


The Last of the Wilds

by Red_Threads



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, But Jongin Just. Won't. Go. Away., EarthSpirit!Kyungsoo, Emotionally Repressed Kyungsoo, FlowerSpirit!Kai, Human!Jongin, Jongin is Good and Bright, Kyungsoo wants nothing to do with Jongin, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-08-05 12:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16367495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Threads/pseuds/Red_Threads
Summary: "There is only one way to break this bond, Earth Spirit."Kyungsoo stared upward in silent malice, daring the woman to continue.“In order to free your soul from this boulder, you must complete this single requirement..."And Kyungsoo immediately knew that it would be something impossible, something that would keep him bound to this boulder forever."You, Earth Spirit, must fall in love with a Human."Kyungsoo laughed bitterly, his head falling back to the ground.  He rolled over so that he was on his back, facing the sky, his eyes blurry with tears of mirth and anger.“Never.  I willneverfall in love with a dirtyHuman."





	1. Bind

**Author's Note:**

> After being forced to witness his lover die at the hands of a Human shaman, Earth Spirit Kyungsoo is then permanently soul-bound to a large boulder and left to watch his land be destroyed and conquered.  However, as required of a Bind, the shaman reveals that there is one way for Kyungsoo to gain back his freedom: he must fall in love with a Human.   
> 
> Centuries pass, and humans lose the ability to see the Spirits at all.  Which is fine with Kyungsoo.  He has no intention of ever leaving his little swatch of land, much less falling in love with a stupid Human.  
> 
> But one hot summer day, 800 years later, a Human boy wanders into Kyungsoo’s territory, and his uncanny physical likeness to his dead lover has the Earth Spirit following his every step.
> 
> What Kyungsoo doesn’t expect is for the Human to be able to see him, to look right up into the trees and initiate a conversation.
> 
> He’d gotten complacent over the years, used to Humans staring straight through him.  
> 
> But this time he’s been spotted. 
> 
> And even worse?  Now that the Human has seen him once he Just. Won’t. Go. Away.

_Long ago, the Earth was a place of raw magic, a place of large, unbroken forests and vast expanses of clear, shining water._

_Soils were rich with nutrients, plants bountiful and healthy.  The waters expanded wide and untamed, full to the brim with fish and sea-life.  The air was clear, the sun bright, the rains frequent._

_And nature worked together in one harmonious cycle... ebb and flow, beginning and end, life and death._

_It all came back, full circle._

_And within this carefully balanced system, many lifeforms existed.  Humans and Spirits were two entities that lived side-by-side, working towards a single-minded goal: maintaining the balance and life of the place they called home._

_Regardless of their differences, both beings relied upon the resources and power of the widespread forests that covered the Earth._

_These forests were known as the Wilds._

_The Spirits tempered the magic of the Wilds, monitoring the rain cycles and distributing the natural wealth of the magic back amongst the Humans.  In return for this gift, the Humans lived in contentment and they happily provided good, healthy energy for the forest to absorb back into its roots and for the Spirits to feed upon._

_And the cycle worked, and many centuries passed in pleasure for all the creatures upon the Earth._

_There was a moment in time, however, when the balance between the two lifeforms was badly disrupted..._

_Unbeknownst to the Spirits, the Human population had begun to rapidly expand._

_Like the growth of a choking vine, the Humans began to slowly creep beyond their boundaries._

_They became greedy for territory, fighting each other for more space, more resources, more of the Wilds.  And once the Humans had taken all of the land from each other, they turned on the Spirits._

_A great Human army was amassed, a large sprawling band of Human beings that tore through the great forests and made the land their own, infecting the soils of the Wilds with a sick, demented energy._

_Many Spirits disappeared into hiding.  Others chose to stay and fight, turning into twisted versions of themselves, feeding off the black energy that the Humans provided and battling against the intruders until they burnt themselves out, like a dying flame._

_And some Spirits, those Spirits who only wanted peace..._

_...they were the first to be captured by the Humans, and the first to be destroyed._

\--~~--

Kyungsoo worked quickly, a sense of foreboding making his fingers clumsy as he struggled to pack his things.

He needed to hurry.  The Human Army would be upon them soon and he and Kai had yet to relocate to safer grounds within their territory. 

They'd waited too long.

Even though Kyungsoo loved their small log cabin with all of his heart, it wouldn't be much protection.  They'd built this one together, and they could do it again, build another, even if it was somewhere else.     

"Kyungsoo!"

The Earth Spirit straightened, head cocking toward the sound of the approaching voice.

"Kyungsoo!

Kyungsoo immediately dropped his pack and stepped out of the front door.

A body ran into him full tilt and they both stumbled backwards until Kyungsoo was able to regain his bearings and straighten them out.  Joonmyun was breathing hard, eyes wild.  Kyungsoo could feel the Water Spirit trembling from where he gripped the other male's shoulders.

"What's going on?" Kyungsoo ordered, holding Joonmyun steady.  He'd never seen his fellow Spirit so frantic.

"It's---  they've got..."  Joonmyun stopped and inhaled deeply before attempting to speak again, but his words still came out in a quick stream of nonsense. "I didn't know what to do!  He won't listen, I came as quickly as I could---"

Kyungsoo felt that ball of foreboding drop to the pit of his stomach, and his patience snapped.  "Joonmyun!"  

There was no time for this.  The Army was practically upon them and Kyungsoo still had last minute preparations to make.  He needed Joonmyun to get to the point.

The Water Spirit's face was streaked with dirt, his clothes tattered from his own preparations to defend his territories from the imposters that were encroaching.  

"Who do they have?"  Kyungsoo repeated slowly, his heart already pounding with dread.

"It's Kai,"  Joonmyun finally choked out. "He insisted on trying to speak with them." 

Kyungsoo cursed. He should have known that Kai would attempt something as foolhardy as this.  

"Where is he, Joonmyun?"  Kyungsoo demanded.  "You have to tell me where --"

"The waterfalls!" the Water Spirit exhaled quickly.  "He's being held in the grove near my falls."

Kyungsoo left without another word, taking to the trees in one bound and leaping from branch to branch as fast as his body would allow.  He tapped into his powers, and the forest responded, bending to his will and assisting him onward.

He could smell the great stink of the Army miles before he drew near its location.  The strong scent of cloying smoke and closely quartered humans invaded his senses to the point of making him gag.

But he persisted onward.

The Earth Spirit's heart was hammering in his chest as he emerged into the high branches of the trees that bordered the grove near Joonmyun's waterfalls.  

He grew still, studying the scene below with widening eyes.  For a split second he lost all train of thought, mind unable to fathom the destruction that spread before him. Kyungsoo felt as though his breath had been knocked from his body, his vision suddenly blurry with pain.

His forest, his beautiful, beautiful forest, once so green and sprawling, was now a wasteland. From this vantage point he could see where the Army had carved straight through the western portion of his territory.  

Trees had been toppled, plants and flowers crushed under muddy boots.  In the distance, flames rose from the small human town that had been nestled against the edge of Kyungsoo's forest.  

He had no doubt the same fate awaited his and Kai's tiny cabin should the Army make it that far.

Kyungsoo inhaled deeply and blinked, tears welling in his eyes and falling silently down his face. 

The damage was so much more terrible than he had anticipated.  

How could these Humans destroy the very land they were after?  It didn't make any sense. 

And Kai.

_"He insisted on trying to speak with them."_

Joonmyun's words echoed through Kyungsoo's mind and he snapped back into focus.

Kai was in there somewhere, and Kyungsoo had to get him out.

He studied the clearing that was directly below him.  The once familiar grove was now lined with tents, Humans walking here and there as they went about their various duties.  Kyungsoo couldn't spot a place that would be easy for him to infiltrate the camp without being seen, and besides that little detail, he had no idea how to discern where Kai was being held prisoner.  From up here, all of the tents looked the same, no one structure more grand than the other.

The Earth Spirit exhaled and wiped an arm across his face, furiously smoothing his tears away and steeling his resolve. There was no time to cry about the damage that had already been done. He was going to have to go into the midst of this army regardless of whether he knew Kai's location or not.  

Kyungsoo gave his surroundings one more quick examination before unfolding from his crouched position and preparing to drop to the ground.

He was about to release the branch when a high and lilting voice addressed him.

"Come out Earth Spirit, I know you're watching."

He froze in place, still hidden in the trees, his eyes immediately zeroing in on a familiar figure that was being led between a group of approaching humans.  Kai was pushed into the clearing, his hands and arms bound behind him. 

A woman in a long, red cloak followed after, her eyes trained on the tree that Kyungsoo was currently hiding in.  He didn't recognize the human woman, but Kyungsoo was immediately unnerved by the fact that her gaze was able to find him so easily.  

Her black hair was pulled back from her face in a severe braid, and her ruby red lips were quirked into a smile as she called again.

"Come out," she repeated, "We have a deal to make."

In her slender hand, she twirled a single flower:  

An amaryllis.

Kyungsoo recognized the plant instantly.  Of all the shrubs, weeds, and flowers that grew in the great expense of the Wilds, the red-petalled amaryllis was Kai's favorite.  The sight of something so fragile and precious being carelessly spun in this human woman's hand drove Kyungsoo out of the trees, anger prickling beneath his skin.  He dropped to the ground on silent feet and stepped into the awaiting ring of people.

The Red Lady's eyes glinted with satisfaction.  

"What do you want?" the Earth Spirit questioned, his voice low and brusque with anger. He could feel Kai's eyes on him, the Flower Spirit keeping quiet as the Red Lady moved to stand directly in front of Kyungsoo.

"You know what I'm after," she purred.

His land.

Kyungsoo's jaw tightened.  "And if I refuse to give it to you?"

She flicked the flower between her fingers, staring at it thoughtfully.  "You will wish you had chosen otherwise."

Kyungsoo's gaze flitted to where Kai was standing; his shoulders were slumped, hands bound behind his back, completely useless.  Kai was a younger Spirit than Kyungsoo, his powers not as potent.  But still.  Kyungsoo had to wonder why the younger male had not simply escaped already.  

Either he didn't want to...

Or he couldn't.

The Red Lady smiled, noticing Kyungsoo's shift in attention.  She stepped back toward Kai, her hand reaching out to trace along the line of his shoulders.  The Flower Spirit tensed at the touch, his gaze finally flicking up to meet Kyungsoo's.

He looked petrified.

"Don’t make the mistake in believing that Spirits are the only ones to control the magic of the Wilds," she murmured cryptically.  "Humans are not as docile as we seem."

_Clearly_ , Kyungsoo wanted to spit.  But he held his tongue, determined not to let this human know what he was thinking.  He didn't know what game she was playing, but it was one he wanted no part in.

"I will not let you destroy this land," he finally responded.  "It does not belong to you.  Release that Spirit and leave."  

The Red Lady frowned, clearly displeased with Kyungsoo's lack of reaction.  "Pity," she murmured lightly.  "I thought he meant more to you.  Maybe I should get rid of him right now."

Kyungsoo's whole body stiffened, his sight going hazy.  And the Red Lady took notice.

" _Ahhh_...there we go."  Her carefree countenance suddenly darkened, her eyes hard and menacing, a predator closing in on her prey.  "Relinquish your lands or the Flower Spirit dies."

"You can't kill a Spirit,"  Kyungsoo retorted lowly.  "It's impossible.

Well.  Not impossible.  Spirits lived on the energy of the Wilds, but if that energy were to disappear, dry up...so would the Spirits.

But this was not something that a human could invoke on her own.

She still spun the delicate stem of the amaryllis flower between her fingers, a considering look upon her face.  "Shall I show you how it's done then?"

" _The flower!_ "  Kyungsoo's gaze jerked back to Kai.  The Flower Spirit’s eyes were wild with fear and desperation, like he was trying to tell Kyungsoo _stay_ and _run_ at the same time.  "Kyungsoo she--"

The Red Lady's gentle fingers suddenly curled into a hard fist, and Kyungsoo looked away from Kai just time to see the stem of the flower snap cleanly in half.  Kai's voice cut off abruptly, and Kyungsoo felt as though time itself stuttered to a stop.  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

The young Flower Spirit's eyes were wide in disbelief, hurt, pain.  His mouth still open as if he were about to say something.

But nothing ever came out.

Kyungsoo watched in frozen horror as Kai's body began to slump, his eyelids drifting shut, his knees collapsing.  

The male fell forward in a slow, arcing descent.

And then Kai, the Flower Spirit, disappeared before he even hit the ground.

Kyungsoo's eyes were glued to the spot where Kai had vanished.  

He couldn't breathe, his mind unable to fathom what had just happened.

Kai couldn't possibly be----. _...no.  He couldn't._

Not possible.

"Where is he?" Kyungsoo mumbled, taking a frantic step forward.  "What have you done?"  

The Earth Spirit glanced around wildly and the Red Lady only stared at him in cool disregard, allowing him to search.  The broken flower in her hand fell to the dirt in an unceremonious heap. 

"He is gone," she replied dispassionately.  "And such shall be your fate too, unless you hand over your lands."

Kyungsoo stared at the flower on the ground without really seeing it, his brain trying to reverse everything that had just happened.  His vision went hazy again, a thousand memories and emotions flitting through his mind in rapid succession.  

Kai grinning in excitement, cheeks flushed and eyes squinted.  Kai digging into the dirt, nails dirty and bangs plastered against his forehead with sweat. Kai running toward Kyungsoo in delight and dancing so gracefully in the moonlight.

Kai lying in bed, beckoning him forward. Kai's searing kiss when he was in a hurry and his languid one when he was not.  Kai's sleeping form, lying so peacefully against him.

Kai was everything.  Kai was his.

And they had been together for longer than any of these selfish human beings had even been alive.

Kai couldn't be gone. 

He just couldn't.   

Spirits didn't just disappear like that.  Spirits didn't just _die._

"Bring him back," Kyungsoo growled, his body trembling and hands curling into fists.  His vision was going red.

"I cannot.  His life energy was bound to that flower, and now that energy is gone, and so is he."

"Impossible!" Kyungsoo raged.  He felt his anger pool in his limbs, gathering like a rising tide.

The Red Lady's foot lifted slowly, and Kyungsoo's eyes traced the movement.  Her leg halted midair, and then she dropped her heel back down upon the flower with crushing force, grinding the delicate petals into the dirt.

Kyungsoo let out a quick, disbelieving huff of air....

...and then the rage within him broke with the force of a tidal wave.

All of the magic that had been building in his system was released, his hurt and anger flowing into the Earth in one cataclysmic rush. 

And the ground responded, opening up all around him, creating a giant crack that widened as it picked up force and spread outward.  The area was suddenly filled with the high cries of humans who were unlucky enough to fall into the new crevice, the solid ground under their feet suddenly nothing but thin air.  Horses screamed as they too tumbled downward, loud and eerily piercing, but Kyungsoo couldn't find it in himself to even care.  

He would destroy this entire Army single-handedly if he had to.

Kyungsoo straightened, a sudden flash of red catching the corner of his eye amongst all the chaos.  

The Red Lady was fleeing toward the trees, her cloak flying behind her like a beckoning banner.  She was abandoning her Army in the hopes of saving her own neck. 

Kyungsoo felt a wave of disgust.  How cowardly.  How predictable.  How futile.  How _human._

The Red Lady disappeared into the forest line and Kyungsoo smiled grimly, allowing her a head start, letting her believe she had a chance of getting away.  There was no way it would happen.  She was in Kyungsoo's territory now.

Kyungsoo let her run just to watch her tire herself out, but when he realized where she was headed, he closed in on her.  

But he’d waited a moment too long, let her go too far.

He found her in the very same clearing that he and Joonmyun had conversed in just hours ago.  The one that protected his and Kai's small, two bedroom cabin.  The Red Lady was standing atop the large boulder that sat off to right of their home.  It was Kai's favorite sunning spot, the rock large and flat enough that sometimes Kyungsoo would even join him. 

And now the Red Lady was using it as a platform.  She stood there, her eyes closed, head bowed, hands pressed together in front of her chest.  And she was mumbling, speaking low and fast.  Some sort of incantation.

The Earth Spirit snorted, his vision still edged crimson with anger.  

She would need more than some stupid incantation to save herself now.

Kyungsoo stepped toward her, and it was like he'd triggered a hidden sense.  Her eyes shot open, dark as night, but her stare vacant and locked on something that Kyungsoo couldn't see... 

He stopped walking.  

The Red Lady's voice grew in pitch and urgency, and Kyungsoo suddenly felt as though his very breath was being sucked from his lungs.  He couldn't move, couldn't  speak.  He could only watch in frozen, breathless silence as a tiny orb of light emerged from his body and floated towards the chanting female.  

Her hands unfolded, one reaching out to caress the small light and coax it closer.  The light hesitated, wavering for a moment, caught in the air as though indecisive, and then it lost resistance, following her gesture forward. 

And suddenly Kyungsoo knew exactly what was about to happen.

That little light was his soul, the part of him that was connected to his life energy...and she was about to bind it to the boulder.

The Red Lady clenched her fist, collecting the light, and then Kyungsoo watched in sick silence as she thrust her hand downward, connecting it to the moss-covered rock beneath her.

Kyungsoo saw white, his body bowed outward, his lungs gasped for air.  

"You will stay here for all of time," she murmured, speaking in a language that Kyungsoo could comprehend.  Her voice was trembling with exhaustion.  "You will stay here until this rock is broken, and you will be unable to do anything as your land is slowly taken away from you, piece by piece."

Kyungsoo collapsed onto the ground, his limbs devoid of energy.  He clenched his teeth and forced himself to raise his head, to stare at her in defiance.  "I will escape," he hissed. His heart hurt, his body hurt, and he was so full of hate. "And I will find you, and I will kill you."

A small smile lifted her lips.  "There is only one way to break this bond, Earth Spirit."

Kyungsoo just stared up at her in silent malice, daring her to continue.

“In order to free your soul from this boulder, you must complete this single requirement…”

And Kyungsoo immediately knew that it would be something impossible, something that would keep him bound to this boulder forever.

"You, Earth Spirit, must fall in love with a Human."

There was a blinding flash then, a signal that the Bind had been sealed.

Kyungsoo laughed bitterly, his head falling back to the ground.  He rolled over so that he was on his back, facing the sky, his eyes blurry with tears of mirth and anger.  

“Never.  I will _never_ fall in love with a dirty _human_."

The Red Lady slipped down from her perch and slowly approached the fallen Earth Spirit, a half-smile on her painted lips.  "I will leave you this clearing and a small section of forest,”  she told him as she walked away.  "But the rest of your land is mine to do with as I please."

Kyungsoo stared up at the sky, fresh tears leaking from his eyes as the finality of what had just happened struck him.

His lands were gone.

His freedom was gone.

His love was gone.

And Kyungsoo was bound to a boulder for all of eternity.

\--~~--

_Red Shamans, they were called._

_Humans that had found the ability to harness the magic of the Wilds, and aptly named after their creator._

_They were able to twist the magic in their favor, use it to their advantage as they pleased.  Humans, however, were not meant to trifle with such potent magic, and so their abilities were far from perfect.  These Red Shamans could not control the elements, nor gain the lengthy lifespan of a Spirit, but they could use such incomplete magic to manipulate the energy that the Spirits relied on._

_Many a Spirit perished, life energy trapped to an object that was then purposely destroyed._

_However, due to the imperfect nature of Shaman magic, there was always a loophole with such energy binds...a stipulation, an exception, a certain balance that the Shaman had to invoke in order to seal the bind._

_It was very rare that any Spirit had a chance to attempt to break their bind, as the Shaman nearly always made the stipulation something that the bound Spirit would never have the means to complete._

_It was a dark age for all Spirits, and as time passed, the Wilds became smaller, the humans became more widespread, and the careful balance that had kept the Earth in line for so long, slowly disappeared_

_Few Spirits voluntarily remained in this new Human world, most choosing to withdraw into hiding, and those few Spirits who did remain had little interaction with the Humans.  For as time went on, and greed, and lust, and hate grew in the hearts of men, the Humans eventually lost the ability to even see the Spirits of the Wilds...._

\--~~--

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to finally start posting this story!  This WIP has been sitting in my files for about 2 years now, and I think it's finally ready to see the light of day.  Posting it here and on AFF. 
> 
> This is a slow build, pull-on-your-heartstrings kind of story, but if you've read Black Magic, you know I like to throw in a little action. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, for those wondering about the Black Magic Sort-of-Sequel... I think I'm almost ready to post the first bit of that as well.  Been writing, writing, writing these past few months. 
> 
> Twitter ---> @RedThreadss


	2. (15)

\--~~--

(15)

 

Jongin stumbled through the thick vegetation, mumbling under his breath as he righted himself and drew further and further from his camp group.  The excited voices of Chanyeol and Baekhyun  and the others faded into the distance, replaced instead by the constant hum of birdsong, the soft whisper of leaves in the breeze.

Jongin grinned and hefted his backpack higher onto his shoulders. 

It was the beginning of summer, and the air was thick with a heavy humidity that had sweat trickling down his spine in a steady stream.

He was hot, and gross, and sweaty, but he was far from miserable.  He’d been waiting all year to get to camp so he could come out here, and he wasn’t about to turn around.  He wiped his brow and picked up his pace, moving quickly now.  He could cool off when he reached his destination.  

Jongin hummed under his breath, quietly happy with the knowledge that his camp counselor wouldn't even miss him.  Jongin had been going to this summer camp long enough to know that the college-aged staff didn't really give a flying flip what the high schoolers chose to do throughout the course of the day.  They had "planned activities", of course, like right now the entire  camp was supposed to be on a tour of the great 10 mile ravine that stretched across the land...  but many boys tended to wander away throughout the day.

So long as they were back to camp by curfew, the counselors didn't say a word.  

Jongin's mother would be appalled if she knew.  Born and raised in the city, the idea of her son in summer camp (in the _forest!_ ) had worried her, but Jongin had insisted.  Whined and cried and begged.  Even at the young age of 12, something about the forest outside of the city had fascinated him.  It was beautiful, alive in a way that the concrete buildings of the city were not.  The forest was ripe with the possibility of adventure.  Of escape.  

His first camp session had been during the summer he was 12 years old, and he had been coming back to the camp every summer since.

Jongin paused, the familiar sound of roaring water reaching his ears. 

The waterfall.  He was close.

He grinned and followed the noise, eventually breaking through the heavy underbrush and stumbling into a clearing.

Jongin blinked and exhaled, glad to see that the space looked exactly as he remembered.  The crystal clear waterfall fell loudly into the deep pool at its base, the water eventually flowing into a good sized river that traveled off down into the base of the ravine. 

The clearing that surrounded the fall was green with soft moss and healthy grass, and though Jongin was sure that nobody frequented this place, everything looked well tended in a natural sort of way. 

Jongin loved entire atmosphere of the clearing, but his favorite feature was the groups of red flowers that were interspersed throughout the grasses.  He slung his backpack off and crouched down next to a cluster of the blooming red flowers.  

 _Amaryllis_ , Jongin recalled, as he traced the smooth softness of a petal.  He'd taken a picture of the flower last summer and looked it up as soon as he'd gotten back home and had enough service on his phone.  

Jongin stood and put his hands on his hips, staring around the clearing in satisfaction.  Another trickle of sweat crept down his spine, reminding him of how disgustingly hot he was, and he sprang toward the waterfall, shedding his shirt and pants as he went.  

He leapt beneath the fall, completely naked, and the cold water closed over his head in a blessed wave of relief.  Jongin sank to the bottom of the natural pool, enjoying the cold reprieve for a moment before bracing his feet on the sandy bottom and propelling back upwards.

He broke the surface with a gasp, flinging his wet bangs from his face. Jongin flipped onto his back and just floated, staring up at the sky, feeling light with happiness. School was out and he was free of assignments and the rush of city life. Out here he could relax, explore the wildness of the forest…

Jongin folded himself back under the water and swam toward the shore. He would love nothing more than to stay right here until sunset, but today he had other plans; he wanted to go into the forest.  He'd only managed to find this place by following the edge of the ravine, but the ravine stopped just outside of this clearing, and this summer, Jongin wanted to go deeper into the forest.

He’d grown up hearing stories about the forest in the camp.  Tales of kids that had ventured into the forest and just _disappeared._ Whisperings of strange sounds that could be heard at night, and sightings of weird animals.  But the forest had never seemed _scary_ to Jongin, just sort of _intimidating.  Old._

At the age of 15, he finally felt brave enough to venture in.

He hefted himself from the pool, careful not to scrape his body, and padded toward his fallen clothes, allowing the early summer breeze to dry the water droplets from his skin.  

Jongin had settled his pants in place and was pulling his shirt up over his head when he felt all the hair on his body stand at attention.  He paused for a second, shirt still over his face, a shiver rolling down his spine.

Someone was watching him.

Jongin yanked his shirt down.  He couldn't see anyone, couldn't hear anyone over the roar of the waterfall either...

He held very still for a moment, just waiting for the feeing to go away, but it still lingered, the weird sensation that he wasn’t alone.  

“Hello?”  He called out. 

The trees swayed as a breeze rippled through the clearing, but nobody appeared.

Jongin shook his head and chided himself before hefting his backpack over his shoulders.  It was probably just a curious animal.

He started toward the edge of the forest, steps quieted by the soft grass, hair still dripping wet.  It was just past noon and he basically had all day to wander.

Jongin walked for several miles, eyes peeled for any interesting animals or plants.  He pulled his phone out, taking pictures here or there. He traversed over small streams and tiny rock piles, winding through the trees on what appeared to be a small deer path. 

He walked on, but he was never able to shake that feeling of being watched.  Often times he'd peek over his shoulder or surreptitiously squat down under the pretense of examining a flower just so he could glance around...

But he never saw anyone, or _anything_ for that matter.  

After several hours, Jongin finally decided to stop for lunch, his resting place of choice being atop a large moss-covered boulder.  He sat down, tired, but still exhilarated nonetheless.  He chewed on his sandwich thoughtfully, mentally cataloguing how long it would probably take him to get back. 

He swallowed the last of his meal and took a swig of water before easing onto his back.  Jongin stared up at the canopy of trees, hypnotized by the way the leaves swayed in the breeze.  Shadows danced along his face and sunlight dappled the clearing.  He relaxed, eyes roving along the thick branches—   

Jongin sat up with a surprised yelp, scrambling to turn around and face the person who was staring down at him.  

Jongin placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm the frantic beat of his heart as his initial shock settled into a prickle of unease.  That same prickle of unease he’d been feeling all day.

The person on the tree branch didn’t react at all, didn’t flinch, didn’t move.  Dark eyes stared down at Jongin unblinkingly, the guy’s expression totally unreadable.  

The person was definitely a guy, Jongin decided, as he took in the sturdy build, broad shoulders, and solid chest.  The man looked a bit older than Jongin, maybe in his mid to late 20s.  His hair was a pitch black, shaggy enough to fall into his eyes.  And his eyes...they were wide, curving prettily around a pair of dark, dark irises.  

The guy looked perfectly comfortable in the trees, one leg dangling from the branch he sat on, the other folded up so that his elbow could rest upon it.  The mossy green color of his loose shirt almost made him blend in to the leaves around him.  

But Jongin could see him.  Could feel the way the guy’s stare was burning into his skin, causing all the hair on his body to stick straight up.  

Jongin licked his lips and finally found his voice.  "Um...h-hello,"  he said uncomfortably.

The male continued to look at him in utter silence, didn't even act as though Jongin had spoken.  

Jongin tried again.  "I'm sorry for bothering you.  I'm just stopping for a bit," he gestured toward his things, his sandwich wrapper and water bottle still sitting next to him on the boulder.

The man's brows drew together, and his stare sharpened.  A reaction.  Probably a negative one.

"Orrrr…I can leave right now," Jongin mumbled under his breath, beginning to gather his things as quickly as he could.

_This is weird._

He stood to leave, jumping down from the large rock he’d been sitting on.  But when he glanced back up to the trees, the man was gone. 

Jongin's eyes widened, and he spun in a circle, checking to see if maybe the man had just moved to a different location.

But for the first time since he'd left the waterfall, Jongin didn't feel as though he were being watched, and he knew that he was well and truly alone in the tiny clearing.

He glanced around one more time, still feeling uneasy, and then he headed back the way he had come, deciding that maybe he had imagined the entire thing.  

This forest was old, after all.  And according to the tales and legends, it wasn’t unusual for strange things to happen.    

\--~~--

Kyungsoo retreated to a higher branch, his heart pounding in surprise.  A vine dropped down, wrapping around his left forearm, and pulling him even higher.  He settled into his makeshift tree house and paced around a bit, mind working quickly. 

That Human had seen him. 

That Human boy had looked straight up at him, stared into his eyes, and _seen him_.

He’d even spoken to him.  

It’d been centuries since a human being had been able to see him.  He didn’t think it possible anymore.

His heart was still pounding in shock.  Kyungsoo stopped moving, put a hand over his chest, and took a deep breath to calm himself.  

He’d been too careless.  He was so used to them not being able to see him that he’d just dropped straight down onto a lower lower branch in order to get a better look at the kid.  He’d been wondering how to scare him off when the boy had looked straight at him and spoken.  

And for a split second, Kyungsoo could have sworn it had been Kai staring up at him.  The physical similarities between the two were uncanny.  His breath had stopped, and his heart had kicked into overdrive.  It was only when the Human had actually _spoken to him,_ voice too high, expression too wary, that Kyungsoo had shaken out of his stupor and gotten out of there.

But still.

The boy had seen him.

He was absolutely sure of it.

The Earth Spirit growled and ran a hand through his hair.  Nothing good ever came from Humans seeing Spirits.  Hopefully the kid decided to stay away. 

—~~—

Despite his discomfort that first day, Jongin continued to return to the forest to explore.  Over the past two weeks, he'd developed a routine.  He would start at the grove with the waterfall, and then head out into the forest, a different path every time.  

And everyday, at some point or another, Jongin would feel all the hair on his body stand, a shiver travel down his spine, and he had the wild thought that maybe he hadn’t imagined that whole entire interaction from the first day.  Maybe there was actually some strange guy following him around the forest, watching his every move.

Strange as it was, Jongin begin to grow used to the sensation. 

One day, he even called into the trees, a simple "I know you're watching."

But he never received a response. 

He wondered if maybe the guy had grown up in the woods, raised by wild animals, unable to speak any human language.  Jongin came up with all kinds of weird explanations in his mind, and in the end he decided that no matter what the guy's situation, he was probably hungry.

Jongin started to leave food at the boulder. 

An apple one day.

A sandwich the next.

Even if the guy couldn't understand Jongin's language, surely he would understand the gesture he was making.  Whether it was the strange guy, or a wild animal, something was eating the food because it was never there the next day when Jongin returned.  

At some point, during the beginning of the third week, Jongin decided that he wanted to see the guy again, coax him out of hiding.  He started to talk out loud, about random things, about himself, knowing the guy was listening, and even if they didn't speak the same language, maybe it would be enough to make the other boy curious. 

But the guy from the trees never revealed himself.  

Every night Jongin would go back to camp, his morale slightly down, but his determination only growing stronger. 

But the days went on, and suddenly it was time for Jongin to return home, the summer winding to a lazy close. 

He trudged back into the forest on his last day of camp, feeling a strong sense of sorrow.  He hadn't seen the boy since that first day, but he'd always felt his presence as soon as he entered to forest.  Even now. 

Jongin made it to the boulder and climbed up, a strange feeling of loss weighing on him already.  

"Today's my last day," he said, speaking upward.  "Tomorrow I'll go back home.  Back to the city."

Jongin sighed heavily.  He really didn't want to go.  He'd much rather spend his days in the shade of the forest trees rather than the tall cement buildings of his hometown.  

"I'll miss it here," Jongin murmured, running his fingers over the soft moss that covered the stone.  "And I'll miss you too," he added, speaking louder, glancing upward again.  "Thanks for listening to me babble all summer."

There was no response, of course, but Jongin felt satisfied all the same.  Somehow he knew the guy understood him, and somehow he knew the guy would still be here next year.  

Jongin had all of next summer to try and lure him out again.

"I'll be back."

\--~~--

Kyungsoo watched in silence as the Human male finally stood up and began the trek back to his silly Human camp.

All summer the boy had been talking incessantly.  Striding into Kyungsoo's territory and leaving tiny morsels of food on Kyungsoo's boulder.   

Kyungsoo stood from his perch in his third favorite tree and begin to follow Jongin through the forest.  He watched with narrowed eyes as the Human boy paused to lean down and touch the petals of a dying amaryllis.  Every year, the red flowers began to sprout in the cold winter months, blooming continuosly all the way until the end of the warm summer, before wilting away and disappearing until next flowering season.

And every year Kyungsoo had to watch them grow, pushing through the earth, lifting up to the sunlight and drinking in the rainfall.  Alive. Reborn. 

….Unlike Kai.

It had been nearly 800 years, and still the memory felt like a fresh wound to Kyungsoo.  The red flowers brought visions of the Red Lady, her lips quirked in a smile as she snapped Kai’s soul in half.  Kyungsoo knew that she had died long ago, her Human lifespan no longer than any other, but still, Kyungsoo's rage toward her and Humans alike had not diminished.  Over the years as his land had disappeared, piece after piece, he'd only grown to hate them more.  

Humans only took, took, took and never, _ever_ gave back.

Nearly all of his territory had been swallowed up, only this small patch remaining.  All of Kyungsoo's friends had vanished, save for a brave handful.  Joonmyun had recently gone to the coast to help a fellow Water Spirit, Minseok, attempt to control the amount of sludge and pollution that filtered into the sea water.  

Luhan, a Spirit of the Air, had visited Kyungsoo about 200 years ago, his countenance grim.  Apparently the Humans had begun creating "machines", things that spouted great amounts of impurities into the air.  Luhan had looked tired, defeated.  

"It's only going to get worse," the Air Spirit had predicted.  "These machines are going to be everywhere, and there's nothing we can do about it.  The Humans can't see us, can't hear us. We can't even warn them that the Earth is _dying_ …”

"They wouldn't listen anyway," Kyungsoo had responded darkly, remembering how Kai's attempt at such peaceful methods had ended.  "Let them kill themselves.  It's what they deserve."

Luhan had nodded heavily.  "We've become just as bad as them, thinking such hateful thoughts..."

It was true, Kyungsoo knew.  But he really couldn't find it in himself to care.  

That emotion had disappeared along with Kai.

As the years passed, it happened just as Luhan had guessed, the state of the Earth becoming worse and worse.  Kyungsoo could tell that the sun shined hotter every year, the summers lasting longer, the seasons changing either slowly or suddenly and all at once.  It wasn't natural. 

And the Wilds no longer responded to Kyungsoo as they used to.  His magic was just as unpredictable as the seasons, strong one day and weak the next.

If this was what the world was turning into, well then he wanted no part of it.  He was almost glad that Kai didn’t have to see the Wilds deteriorate as much as they had in the past few centuries.  Kyungsoo's heart would have broken ten thousand times over for the state of the Earth if it hadn't already been shattered to oblivion when Kai disappeared.  

The Earth Spirit felt Kai's absence like a thorn in his side, a thorn he could never extract. It hurt, pulsed in constant pain.  He would have given into the hateful pull of darkness, if not for the Bind that held him in place, kept him from burning himself out like so many Spirits before him.  

No.  Kyungsoo's disdain for Humans had not lessened any over the years.

And he certainly felt no connection to this particular Human that continued to wander into his forest.

Really, the only thing that held Kyungsoo back from running the kid off was the fact that the Human bore such a striking physical resemblance to Kai. 

Kyungsoo watched Jongin walk, studied his taut muscles, the tanned skin, the high forehead.  Where Kai had been all angles, this Human still held a bit of softness around his face that betrayed his youth.  He wasn’t quite as tall as Kai either.  At least, not yet.  The Human was probably still growing.

Kyungsoo followed after the boy, suddenly unable to resist the lure of his memories.  For a moment, Kyungsoo’s vision swam and Jongin was Kai, and Kyungsoo was free, and all was right with the world. 

But then he felt that tell-tale tightening around his neck, the Bind kicking in, a noose restricting his movements, and the vision shattered.  

Nothing was right. 

Nothing at all.  

Jongin continued onward without the Earth Spirit, just like every other being had, and Kyungsoo melted back into the forest, alone.

The trees seemed very silent, almost as if the woods were mourning the loss of such a pure soul, such an innocent human.  Whether Kyungsoo wanted to admit it or not, Jongin had fed the forest with a positive energy that it hadn’t received in a very long time.  Everything had seemed a little brighter, a little more natural.  

Kyungsoo had felt the good energy trickle into his system as well, and it was a pleasant shock, a feeling of calm and peace that he’d refused to acknowledge was due to Jongin’s constant presence.

But everything was quiet now.

Almost too quiet.

Kyungsoo had more or less been alone for 800 years, unnoticeable to anyone but his fellow Spirits, but as he sat on a sturdy tree branch, staring into the distance where Jongin had disappeared, he felt a wave of true isolation. 

The Earth Spirit snorted at himself.  

_Don’t be stupid._

Jongin was just another filthy Human.  The boy might seem to be pure, and innocent, and good now, but Kyungsoo was willing to bet all of that sweet joy would be gone in a couple of years.

Jongin would grow up to be just like all the others.  

 _Good riddance._  

\--~~--  

_Red Shamans became extinct, their powers no longer needed to keep the Spirits in line, but there was a legend that some Humans still possessed the rare ability to see the Spirits.  A Human with this power was said to be pure at heart, genuinely kind, and innocently curious._

_Unlike the Red Shamans that sought to kill and steal from the Spirits of the Wild, this new generation of Shamans were selfless and positive, just as the Humans of old.  Full of bright energy and good will._

_Understandably, the remaining Spirits did not receive these Humans very well, despite their positive energy.  It took a very long time for any Human, no matter how pure of heart, to regain the trust of the Spirits._

—~~—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for such a positive response on the first chapter!  Ya'lls commments are always so great.  I truly appreciate them so much.  
> 
> Hope everyone is doing well with school (killing those midterms) and work!!  Holidays are coming!  Yay! 
> 
> <3
> 
> -Red_Threads


	3. (16)

—~~—

16

 

The school year seemed to pass slowly for Jongin.  

The seasons grew cold, the holidays came and went, Jongin grew another year older, and then finally, _finally,_ the summer arrived.  

Jongin found himself back at the camp in the woods with the same boys and the same counselors, mostly everyone returning.  

The first day back at camp, Jongin immediately threw his luggage down and took off for the ravine, following the familiar path. 

Not a day had gone by since he'd left last year, that he hadn't thought about the guy from the boulder.  His dark hair, pale skin, glaring eyes.  

Jongin would even go so far as to call it a slight obsession.

He walked quickly, racing against the disappearing daylight, knowing that this was going to have to be a short trip.  He'd probably have just enough time to make it to the boulder, sit for a bit, and then hightail it back to camp.

Jongin reached the grove that bordered the waterfall and immediately made a dash for the forest, only slightly disappointed when he didn't experience that routine prickle of watchfulness against his skin. 

He kept going anyway.

By the time he reached the boulder he was out of breath, his heart beginning to sink in his chest.  

He couldn't sense the boy's presence like he had been able to last summer.

Jongin pouted and slumped against the huge stone, wiping his sweat soaked bangs from his forehead.  "I'm back," he called anyway.  "How have you been?"

Jongin listened intently, but could hear nothing save the reply of the birds as they prepared to nest for the night.  A couple of fireflys had begun to lazily blink in the encroaching darkness, and Jongin eventually hung his head and sighed.  "I'll return tomorrow."

"Why do you keep coming here?”

Jongin nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice.  He stumbled away from the boulder, turning in a tight circle to stare up at the trees behind him.  

Jongin's eyes darted from branch to branch, the shadows already growing thick in the fading light.  He found the owner of the low voice perched in almost the same place as last summer.  He looked just as Jongin remembered, dark hair, dark eyes, light skin.  The male casually reclined in the trees, full lips pulled down in a frown as he continued to stare at Jongin.  

Once again, Jongin found himself at a loss on how to react to the guy's sudden presence. The silence in the clearing stretched an uncomfortable length.  He finally pulled himself from his stupor and shrugged, answering the man’s question as truthfully as he could.  "Because you're here."

The guy in the tree let out a disdainful snort, and by now the clearing had darkened enough that Jongin could only just make out his features.  

“Go home.”

Jongin could only blink, still staring upward into the thickening darkness, somehow happy despite the harsh words.  "I'll be back tomorrow!"  he yelled as he turned.  He chased the last bit of daylight all the way back to camp, heart thundering in his chest.

\--~~--

True to his word, the human boy had come back the next day.

And the next.

And the next. 

And against Kyungsoo's better judgement, he allowed Jongin to come and go as he pleased.  And worse?  Kyungsoo actually found himself _interacting_ with him.

It'd been a long time since Kyungsoo had had any sort of socialization with anyone, much less a Human.  But he was weak to the way Jongin would come sprinting toward the boulder, eyes bright, forehead damp with sweat.  He was such the spitting image of Kai, that Kyungsoo would often have to resist the urge to leap down and tackle the boy to the ground in a bone-crushing hug. 

Jongin may have looked like Kai, may have acted like the Flower Spirit in some regard, but he was not Kai.  

For starters, Kyungsoo did not recall Kai talking nearly half as much as Jongin did.  The boy asked so many inane questions.    

"What's this plant called?"

"How do you climb trees so well?"

"Do you live out here alone?  Where's your house?"

"How do you gather food?"

"Do you have a cell phone?  Can we take a picture together on mine?”

“Um. What’s your name?”

Kyungsoo had answered most of the questions  (those he could at least, he still had no idea what this 'cell phone' thing was, even though Jongin had tried to show him) if only to make Jongin shut up.  But he'd never revealed his true identity...that he was a Spirit of the Wilds.  

And Jongin never pressed too hard to know.  He seemed perfectly satisfied with Kyungsoo's answers, perfectly okay with believing that Kyungsoo was just some weird guy who liked to live in the woods and refused to leave.

Jongin would show up early in morning and stay as long as he could, lounging on Kyungsoo's boulder, attempting to climb a tree, following Kyungsoo around as the Earth Spirit traversed his boundaries.  

He was just always there, and he was hard to ignore, no matter how much Kyungsoo tried.  

Three weeks of Jongin coming around, and suddenly Kyungsoo realized that they were having actual conversations, not just Jongin chattering on and Kyungsoo answering in monotonic syllables. 

They were walking down a wooded path when that realization hit him, and the Earth Spirit drew to a sudden halt, body going rigid. And Jongin, who was following along behind, talking about his favorite season (which was summer), ran straight into him.

The boy was only 16, but he was already taller than Kyungsoo.  They collided and Jongin's hands immediately shot out to steady them both, and Kyungsoo jerked away, feeling uncomfortable at the sudden touch.

How could he possibly be strolling through the woods, holding casual conversation with a stupid Human?  With his _enemy_?

Jongin had stopped talking, the silence stretching until the younger boy ventured to ask a question.  "Are you okay?  I didn't mean to run into you..."

Kyungsoo simply turned to face Jongin, study him intently.  Jongin stared back, eyes wide in question.

This needed to stop.  

This...this...weird companionship.  

_Casual acquaintance_ , Kyungsoo mentally corrected. 

It could not be.

It wouldn't last.  

He didn't want it.

\--~~--

Jongin could tell the moment it happened: Kyungsoo was shutting him out again.

He wasn't sure what he'd done (or maybe said?) that had spurred the change, but it didn't sit well with him at all.

Kyungsoo was a mysterious guy, living in the woods alone, climbing trees quick as a monkey, never really speaking much.  

Jongin could safely say that his sorta-of-kinda obsession had morphed into a full on fixation.  He was just so curious about everything that Kyungsoo was and everything he represented.  A wild sort of freedom, that Jongin couldn't believe still existed in this day and age of cell phones and expectations.  Jongin's landscape wasn't a landscape at all...it was a cityscape, all concrete and asphalt, glass, and chemicals, and people, people everywhere.

Kyungsoo's landscape was green grass, blue sky, red flowers.  Fresh air, wild animals, a sense of communication with the actual _Earth._

Jongin had never longed to know a person more....

...to understand how Kyungsoo had managed to escape society and survive out here all alone.

Jongin still couldn't pin-point the guy's age, he looked relatively young, but sometimes Jongin would catch a gleam in those dark, dark eyes that seemed timeless, like he contained a secret knowledge of things Jongin could only begin to understand.  

The rest of the summer passed by with Kyungsoo slowly reverting back into the same persona of last summer.  

On Jongin's final day of camp he walked out to the boulder and climbed up with a sigh.  He didn't want to go home.  He didn't want the summer to end, didn't want to have to wait an entire year to see Kyungsoo again.

He waited for Kyungsoo to show up, as he usually did, but the sun traveled across the sky and Jongin decided to take a nap.  Eventually the darkness was upon him, and Jongin knew he couldn’t hang around any longer.  He tried to bury the hurt of Kyungsoo’s obvious absence, wondering why he was suddenly being cast back into suffocating silence.

It was a clear message Kyungsoo was sending, even if Jongin didn’t understand the reasoning behind it.

He was unwanted here.

But still, for some reason, he felt as though he shouldn’t give up.   

"I'll be back," he called out.  "See you next year, Kyungsoo."

\--~~--

Kyungsoo loathed himself.  Kyungsoo loathed Jongin.  Kyungsoo loathed the fact that he was alone and that he actually missed the presence of one stupid teenaged Human.  

After Jongin had left for the summer, the seasons had eventually started to shift toward winter.  And the winter months seemed to crawl by.  For some reason, Kyungsoo’s restriction within his forest became especially annoying to him.  More so than ever before, he was like a caged animal pacing his prison. Eventually, he decided he needed a way to simply get rid of his excess energy, distract him from the weird sense of impatience that was constantly pressing inward.  

One day he stood atop Kai’s favorite boulder and surveyed the area where their cabin used to stand.  He stared at that space long and hard, and then made a decision.  He would rebuild it.  Kai would probably have liked that.  

So, to waste time during the winter months, the Earth Spirit began to construct a new cabin.  

Like its predecessor, the new cabin was small.  Two little rooms, one with a fireplace made of smooth river pebbles, the other empty save for the floors made of smooth pine.  The windows were open spaces with covers that fit over them to keep out the cold.  He knew he’d have to wait until spring or fall to create a soft sleeping mat.  He’d have to go around and gather dried plant stalks and loose feathers left along the forest floor.

There were times as he was working on the cabin that he had to stop what he was doing and sit down or simply leave the small structure to walk in the forest.  Sometimes the memories just hit him like a sudden rainstorm, pelting him hard and fast, making his chest _hurt, hurt, hurt_.  

_Kai walking in, his hands and knees stained with soil, Kai sitting near the hearth, firelight dancing across the planes of his face.  Kai dancing between rooms, reveling in the good, pure energy that was flowing through the flowers he reigned over._

Sometimes Kyungsoo had to stop and simply think _why am I doing this?_

But he never really could come up with a good answer.  He could have stopped the project completely.  It was just a way to distract himself, pass the time.  Rebuilding the cabin wasn’t important.  Not really.  

Yet, there was always something that made him trudge back.  Because as much as it hurt to relive those memories, it was also the only way he could keep Kai fresh in his mind.  

He finished the house, just as the first signs of spring began to show, and the forest began to thaw. The air became warmer and the impatience in his chest was replaced with a blooming sense of anticipation.

Because after spring came summer.

—~~—

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Short little chapter. The chapters get a bit lengthier after this. 
> 
> Thanks for the comments so far!! Glad to know you guys are enjoying the story.
> 
> -Red_Threads


	4. (17)

—~~—

17

 

Jongin went flying through the forest, his body on autopilot.  He had grown long and lanky in the past winter months, but he no longer tripped on the underbrush that lined the green pathways; he could probably traverse this trail with his eyes closed.

It was his first day back to summer camp, and he was in a particular hurry.

It'd been a whole year since he’s spoken to Kyungsoo— _seen_ Kyungsoo—, and Jongin had a burning question that he needed to ask the older male.

He burst into the clearing, out of breath and sweating as usual.  "Kyungsoo!" he yelled jubilantly, voice cracking and going higher in pitch.  He cleared his throat, a blush rising to his cheeks, and started again.  "Kyungsoo! I'm back---"

The words died on his lips as he stared at the small log cabin that was nestled near the boulder.  

_Where did that come from? Who----?_

A familiar sensation crept over him, and Jongin stiffened automatically, wondering where Kyungsoo was spying on him from this time. 

Jongin's eyes caught movement from the open window of the house, and he squinted, tilting his head.  Kyungsoo stood inside, a weird, half-smirk on his face.  The older male came forward, leaned out of the open window so that his muscular forearms were braced upon the sill.  "Welcome back," he greeted, voice as low and smooth as Jongin remembered.  

The younger boy cleared his throat again, feeling parched all of a sudden. Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes and Jongin straightened in self-consciousness, pulling himself to attention.  He fixed a grin on his face and raced toward the house, relieved that Kyungsoo seemed welcoming.  He'd been afraid after the way they'd parted last summer that Kyungsoo wouldn't show up anymore.  That he would just slip out of Jongin’s life in the same silent manner that he'd seemed to slip in.

Jongin stepped through the doorway, a hundred questions on flying through his mind.  He had so many things to ask, little things that had piled up over the winter.

But first, there was one very important question that he was dying to know the answer to.

"Kyungsoo,…” he said, even as he looked around the small two-bedroom house with interest.  He paused in his exploration and turned to face the quiet male.  "Have you ever been in love?"

Kyungsoo went completely still, his eyes suddenly flat and black, staring back at him impassively.  A typical expression.  But Jongin had started to pick up on the minute differences in that blank stare.  Right now, for instance, he could tell that Kyungsoo was actually a little shocked, eyes slightly wider than normal. 

The older man continued to stare at Jongin, and Jongin held perfectly still, desperately wanting to know the answer to his question. 

“Yes, I’ve been in love.” Kyungsoo’s gaze dropped.  “I still am.”

Jongin’s heart pinched at the quiet admission.  “Does she live with you? In the forest?”

Kyungsoo turned toward the doorway, his posture beginning to close Jongin out.  Jongin thought for a second he wouldn’t get a response from Kyungsoo, that he’d pushed too far, wanted to know too much, but Kyungsoo spoke again.

“No.  He died a long time ago.”

_He?_

Jongin could feel a blush crawling up his neck again, a weird kick in his stomach.

_He?_

It was such a taboo where he came from, for a man to love another man, to feel attraction for another male.  Such an ugly taboo, that Jongin had been scared of his own heart, his own feelings.  Because he was quite sure that it was not soft and pretty females that drew his interest.     

“He died a long time ago, but I will never stop loving him.”

That weird kick in Jongin’s stomach solidified and sank like a heavy anchor.  An overwhelming sense of sadness had begun to creep throughout the cabin, and Jongin cleared his throat, decided to try and steer the conversation in a different direction.

“So, um…is this where you’re going to live now?”

Kyungsoo walked through the doorway without another word, melting into the forest as he tended to do. 

Jongin stepped outside and didn’t even attempt to follow him.  He sighed and glanced upward, could tell that the sun had begun to set by the slant of the shadows.  He needed to get back to camp.  

 He would try again tomorrow.

\--~~--   

It took him a whole week before he worked up the courage to ask Kyungsoo another question.  The older male had been quiet, but at least he’d deigned Jongin still worthy of his presence.

They were hiking through a part of forest that was so thick with branches and leaves that it created a sort of arching green tunnel.  Over the years, it had become one of Jongin’s favorite places to walk.  He was following behind Kyungsoo, as usual, watching the way his broad shoulders bunched and relaxed as he moved wayward vines and branches from the pathway.

“How do you know when you’re in love?” Jongin blurted.

Kyungsoo didn’t stop moving, but glanced over his shoulder, one thick brow raised, disappearing into the fringe of his dark bangs.

Jongin felt like his face was on fire.

They reached the end of the tunnel before the older male answered.  The forest cleared, the trees petering out into nothing, the view open for several miles.  In the not too distant distance, Jongin’s hometown rose from the ground like a giant concrete monstrosity.  Foreign, unnatural.  Manmade.  He and Kyungsoo found a low branch to sit on, and then they both just stared out at the cityscape for a while.  The sweat cooled on Jongin’s skin as a soft breeze brushed by.

“You know you’re in love because you find yourself thinking about the other person all the time,”  Kyungsoo said lowly.  “You want to know what makes them happy, what makes them sad?  If they aren’t right next to you, you wonder what they could be doing instead.  They make your heart beat fast, but at the same time you feel so calm around them, comfortable…. You’d do anything for them.  Be anything for them.”

Jongin turned his head slightly, just enough to surreptitiously study Kyungsoo’s profile as he spoke.  The thoughtful tilt of his head, the open vulnerability in his eyes. The planes of his face had softened into an expression that Jongin had never seen on him before. 

His heart sped just a tiny bit as he watched the way the sunlight fell across Kyungsoo’s face, the way the breeze stirred his hair, leaves rustling around him in a soft whisper.  In that moment, Jongin felt there was something so very raw, and wild, and powerful about Kyungsoo, but also something so very delicate and tender.  Something on the verge of breaking.  

“The other person feels like home,” Kyungsoo finished, turning to stare directly into Jongin’s eyes.  Jongin blinked and his gaze darted away in embarrassment from being caught.  Kyungsoo probably thought he was the weirdest person in the world.  

_Freak. Freak. Freak._

Just like all the people back in the city. 

“Why do you want to know?”

Jongin stiffened in surprise.  He hadn’t expected Kyungsoo to ask him _why_ he wanted to know.  Kyungsoo never asked him questions.  “I just…,” he inhaled deeply and forced himself to look back up, “I keep thinking about this one person.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he’s…,”  Jongin’s throat closed up as it always did when he had such taboo thoughts.  Thoughts that weren’t _normal._   It was just so wrong to like another male.  But Kyungsoo was staring at him with absolutely no judgement.  And Kyungsoo himself had already admitted that he had feelings for another male, so Jongin closed his eyes and forced the words out.  “He goes to school with me.  He’s at camp this year too.”

_A lie._

There was no boy at school or camp.  There was a boy who lived in the woods, and had dark hair and a short stature. He was hard to read and he didn’t really say much, but that didn’t stop Jongin from thinking about him _all the time._

Summer after summer.  Winter after winter.  An endless cycle of Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo.

“Do you want to get back then?  So you can spend time with him?”

“No!” Jongin answered quickly— a little _too_ quickly.  His breathing was starting to get a little fast, a weird feeling creeping over him, as though he’d revealed too much.  He was waiting for Kyungsoo’s gaze to change to one of pity, disgust.  

_Freak._

“I mean, it’s okay,” Jongin amended weakly, feeling himself start to tremble.  “I’ll see him tonight.  And tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo turned away with a shrug, seemingly indifferent to the matter.  “Suit yourself.”

Jongin exhaled heavily through his nose, suddenly wishing he were near one of those distant brick walls so he could bang his head against it.

_So embarrassing.  Everything about you is so embarrassing and wrong._

Jongin was too young for someone like Kyungsoo, too weird and gangly, and dumb.

Kyungsoo stood, the movement smooth and graceful.  “Time to head back.”  He walked off without another word.

Jongin sighed.  He was probably nothing but a nuisance to Kyungsoo, constantly showing up and following him around, asking questions and talking all the time.  _Why would Kyungsoo even think twice about you?_

Especially if he were still in love with someone from his past? Jongin stared out at his home city, his heart pulsing with hurt and dejection.  He swung his legs beneath himself and hopped to the ground, blinking furiously before turning to follow Kyungsoo back into the forest. 

—~~—

The sun was dropping low in the sky, and Kyungsoo was climbing the tallest tree that still remained in his small swatch of land.  The lower branches were as big around as one of his legs, but the smaller branches, the higher ones…they were much less substantial.  The thin limbs began to bow under his weight as he continued to climb higher, but he felt no fear.  The branches would hold.  His powers were particularly strong today. So Kyungsoo kept climbing until he was swaying in the very tip-top of the tree, looking out over his pitiful territories.  

Looking out in the direction of the human camp.

Jongin hadn’t come to visit him today.  The first time in almost three summers.  

And as much as he hated to admit it, Jongin’s absence made him feel…uneasy.  As though a reliable routine had been disrupted.  And he didn’t like it.  He didn’t like it one bit.

He blew out an annoyed huff and rested an elbow against the tree, wondering what the young Human could be up to.  Perhaps he was spending time with that boy he had mentioned yesterday?  

Kyungsoo drummed his fingers against the bark of the tree, and the leaves shuddered in response.  

“What?”  Kyungsoo questioned to the forest around him.  “I’m not agitated.  I’m just…”

He had been caught off guard when Jongin had started asking questions about love.  Jongin had always asked Kyungsoo a lot of questions, but he had always kind of steered clear when it came to questions that delved into Kyungsoo’s past.  

Honestly, Kyungsoo had surprised _himself_ when he’d actually answered Jongin yesterday.  Love was an emotion he _remembered_ , but it was not one that he had truly _felt_ in a long time.  He wasn’t really sure where that answer yesterday had come from, how he’d conjured those words up so easily.  Perhaps he’d had a lot of time his past winter to really reflect on his feelings for Kai, and so they were still close to the surface, those remembered emotions.

He smoothed his hand along the tree again, feeling lonely.  A vine twined around his finger in comfort.

“Yeah,”  Kyungsoo mumbled.  “Maybe he’ll be back tomorrow.”

—~~—

After three days of avoiding Kyungsoo, Jongin finally decided he was capable of putting a lid on his budding emotions, and at least act as though everything were as normal as the past few summers.  He could do that for a couple of weeks, just until the session ended. 

He slipped away from the camp as he always did, nobody bothering to ask where he was going or follow after him.  Over the past few years, he’d created the quiet reputation of being invisible.  It was easier to disappear that way.  He hit the path, found the ravine, passed the waterfall, entered the forest.  

Kyungsoo was sitting on the boulder when he entered the clearing, almost as if he were waiting for him.

Jongin paused, wondering if the older male had actually been concerned over his absence.  He cleared his throat, and Kyungsoo blinked, relaxing back into a more unaffected pose.  

“I, um…I brought sandwiches,” Jongin started.  “If you’re hungry.”  

Kyungsoo inhaled deeply, his chest expanding, the fabric of his shirt stretching tight.  “Yeah,” he said, voice low.  “But I want to take you somewhere first.”

“Somewhere?—“

“You’ve never been there before.”

Jongin cocked his head.  “Okay.  Let’s go.”

Kyungsoo stood from his place on the boulder and held out his hand, invitation clear.  Jongin took a step forward and slipped his palm into the older male’s, allowing himself to pulled upward.  Kyungsoo’s hand was calloused, warm and rough were it engulfed Jongin’s own.

“We’re climbing,”  Kyungsoo said as he hauled Jongin up onto the large rock.  “Here, let me take the backpack.”

“Wait, we’re climbing into the trees?”

“I’ll help you.”

“What if I fall and die?”

“I said I’ll help you.  You’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think you understand how uncoordinated I am.”

“You’re not uncoordinated.  Now do you want to come or not?”

Oh, Jongin wanted to come, and he was going to climb, despite the very definite risk of him falling to his death.  Kyungsoo was offering to take him somewhere special, somewhere he’d never taken Jongin before, and for some reason, it felt like a big deal.  A glimpse into the closely guarded secret of Kyungsoo’s forest life.

From the boulder, Kyungsoo easily reached with both hands to grab a low-hanging branch, his forearms flexing with the force of his grip.  Jongin swallowed heavily as the shorter male suddenly shot upward, all upper body strength.  Kyungsoo lifted himself onto the branch as though it were nothing, gracefully settling himself, backpack and all.  He turned to look down at Jongin expectantly.  

Jongin blinked up at him.

Kyungsoo stared back.

“ _Oh,_ right,” Jongin gestured toward the branch.  “My turn. Yeah.  I’ll just….I’m um….right behind you.”  

_This is going to be awful._

Jongin wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before reaching out to hold onto the branch.  Kyungsoo had already stealthily moved to another perch, affording Jongin more room to climb.  Jongin inhaled deeply, tightened his grip, and then lifted himself upward.  

Or well.  He tried.

He trembled with effort as he tried to lift his own body weight high enough, but he couldn’t quite crest the branch.

_Please, if I can just get onto this one branch, I’ll work out all winter.  I’ll take a break from eating chocolate.  I’ll do twenty pushups every night for the rest of my life.  Please, just don’t let me fall.  Please. I’m so embarrassing already…._

He huffed and pulled, swung himself a bit, eventually managed to _somehow_ get one leg over the branch.

And now he was hanging from the tree like a giant, overgrown sloth.

Jongin closed his eyes, considered letting go and falling onto the boulder below.  

A sharp snort had him opening his eyes to stare above where Kyungsoo was trying (and failing) to smother a laugh into his palm.  

Jongin huffed up at him.  “I _told_ you!  I told you this was a terrible idea.  Let me down.  Kyungsoo come get me down from here.  I’m done. I’m finished.  That’s it.”

And Jongin was whining and complaining, wriggling a little bit, beyond caring how ridiculous he looked. He glanced back upward again, and his next words died on his lips.  In all the years he’d been coming to visit Kyungsoo, he had never seen the older male smile.

Not once.

But right now, Kyungsoo was smiling.  He was smiling so widely his cheeks were bunched and his eyes had disappeared into happy crescents.  Jongin had just enough presence of mind to vaguely note that Kyugsoo’s lips formed a sort of heart-shape when they pulled across his teeth like that—

—And then Jonign’s grip slipped and the world was suddenly upside down as he hung from the branch by only his legs.  His vision turned into black and white stripes as his shirt slid down and covered his face.  And now his entire torso was exposed.

_Why?  Why am I like this?_

He knew Kyungsoo was back on the boulder because the older male’s voice was suddenly right beside him.  

“Maybe we’ll go another time.”  The cadence in Kyungsoo’s tone insinuated that _maybe not._

There was a light prod to Jongin’s chest, a fingertip to his sternum, and he jerked as though he’d been stung.  He hurriedly tried to pull his shirt back into place, glaring out at Kyungsoo, who was now only a foot away.  

“You’re possibly the worst climber I’ve ever seen.”

And Jongin felt a sudden surge of indignation, the need to prove him wrong.  “No!  I can do it.  Seriously.  Let’s go.”   But all the blood was rushing to his head, and it was really getting hard to even think straight, much less figure out how he was going to get out of this situation without cracking his skull open.  But strong hands were suddenly on his back lifting him upward, and Jongin released his shirt and grabbed for the branch instead, twisting to settle himself upright. 

He gave the black spots in his vision a moment to clear, and then Jongin carefully stood up and reached for the next branch.  He scrabbled up three more branches in a row before stopping to look back for Kyungsoo.  The dark-haired male was still standing on the boulder, hands on his hips, back pack settled on his shoulders as he stared upward.  

For a moment, it felt as though their positions had somehow been reversed, that Jongin was the boy in the trees and Kyungsoo the boy from the city that came to visit every summer.  An obnoxious boy with a backpack, standing on the boulder and staring upwards.  Jongin shifted so he had a better view of Kyungsoo’s face.  Through the leaves, he could just barely see the smile that quirked the corner of Kyungoo’s lips.

He wondered what it would be like to go to school with Kyungsoo.  To go out to eat afterward, maybe share a cup of ice cream.  What flavor would Kyungsoo like the best?  Probably something plain, like vanilla, or chocolate…

Down below, Kyungsoo moved, his strong arms lifting him upward, bare feet gripping the tree with ease, and the vision was broken.  

Jongin snorted.  

Kyungsoo no more belonged in a city than Jongin belonged in a tree.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, and reached for the next branch.

—~~—

“Here.”

Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand, and allowed the older male to pull him up the last bit of the way.  He huffed and sprawled outward on the flat planks of wood beneath him, allowing himself to rest for a moment.  

He’d made it.

Jongin blew his bangs from his forehead and stared upwards, wondering at the thick growth of branches and vines above him.  They formed a sort of domed roof, so perfectly fused and notched, curving gracefully upward, that Jongin had a hard time convincing himself they hadn’t just _naturally_ grown that way.  “Did you build this place too?”

Kyungsoo was moving around somewhere to his left, and Jongin sat up slowly, savoring the moment and taking everything in.  

“I did.”

They were in a sort of treehouse, with solid wooden planks that served as flooring and open spaces between the twisting branches that created windows.  A cross-breeze wafted inward and Jongin lifted his face toward the cool air, his gaze darting around to take in the eclectic collection of objects that decorated the walls.  

There were strange pieces of scrap metal, curved and rusted, hanging along the walls. Here and there, shelves were lodged between branches and Jongin tilted his head at the old pieces of green bottle glass and broken ceramics that refracted sunlight back toward him.  

He crawled closer to the shelves, squinting.  There was a small jar, filled with metal pellets that were no bigger than his pinky finger.  Some of them were flattened from use, others completely round, and whole.  Jongin had never shot a gun before but he knew enough to recognize that what he was looking at was ammunition.  Next to the jar was a pair of metal scissors that had rusted completely, but still held their shape, and next to that, an old aluminum can.

Jongin tilted his head and moved on to a different shelf.  This one was covered in plastic.  A group of plastic bottles, half of a plastic frisbee, a grocery sack, the bottom of a red Solo cup, and ….something that was orange.  Maybe part of a construction cone?  Hard to tell.

“What is all of this?”  he asked, eyes roving over what looked to be a chunk of rotted leather… a shoe sole maybe?  

Kyungsoo was suddenly beside him, staring at the objects with an unblinking intensity.  “Just things that humans have left behind.  Basically trash.”

And there was a lot of it.  Everywhere Jongin looked, there were things—just _things_ — stashed away, carefully organized.  Every object had its place among the twining branches and leaves, until it was almost impossible to tell whether or not the plants were intruding on the objects or the objects intruding on the plants.  The overall effect was a strange sort of orderly chaos that was unnaturally…beautiful.  

But also kind of sad.

These harsh manmade objects did not belong against the delicate green foliage of the leaves or the dark brown flesh of the branches.  This collection almost seemed like a weird human-made tumor that had flourished within the walls of the forest.  

Jongin’s gaze slipped from the bits of litter and came to rest on the male next to him.  Why had he collected all these things?  Taken the time to stack and pose them so carefully?  

“Sandwich?”

Jongin flinched, tried to look anywhere but at Kyungsoo, but he knew Kyungsoo had definitely caught him staring at him.  He accepted the food, shoving the sandwich into his mouth to block the questions that were threatening to come sprouting out.  His gaze eventually settled on the low storm clouds that were building outside, beginning to block the sunlight.  Jongin tried very hard to ignore the heat that was creeping up his neck. 

“I’ve lived in this forest for a long time.” 

Jongin glanced over again, surprised that Kyungsoo was sharing even that bit of information with him.  Jongin sank to the floor of the treehouse, sandwich in hand, and Kyungsoo sat down next to him.  There was a colorful rug, cushy, made out of different fabrics.  Jongin settled in. 

“Just out of curiosity, Jongin, how old do you think I am?”

Jongin chewed thoughtfully for a second, weighing that question in his mind.  It was one he’d thought about a lot over the years.  “Early twenties? Late-twenties at the most.”

Kyungsoo snorted, a flash of amusement lighting his eyes.  “Why do you think I’m out here?  Living in the forest all by myself?  Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“It is weird,” Jongin answered immediately, swallowing hard.  “It’s super weird.  But who am I to judge?  People tell me I’m weird all the time.  My reason for coming out here is because I just wanted to be alone.  But I don’t why you’re out here.  Maybe you were raised by the forest animals and this has always been your home?  Maybe you used to live in the city, but people judged you and shamed you for having feelings for another man, and so you escaped to a place where they couldn’t reach you?  Or maybe you work for the government and you’re doing top secret research?”  

Jongin was breathing fast, his eyes darting around the room.  He felt like his words were exploding out of him. All the questions and theories and his own fears that had been building within him for years now just coming out in an unstoppable wave.  

“I mean, honestly, you could be an escaped convict that’s been hiding out in the forest for years.  Maybe you’re about to murder me and add my bones to your collection, but who knows? Not me.”

Jongin’s gaze eventually settled on Kyungsoo.  He looked a bit startled in the wake of Jongin’s answer, but eventually a slow grin curved his lips and his eyes crinkled in amusement.  Jongin’s mind slowed back down to a staticky sort of silence as he basked in that smile.  

Two in the same day.  Absolutely unheard of.

“Ah, well… you wouldn’t believe the truth if I told you.”

“Try me,” Jongin urged.  

“No,” Kyungsoo snorted leaning back against the leg of a nearby table.  “I think it’s better if you never know.  Honestly, it’s not important anyways.”

Jongin blinked, a little let down.  “I wish you would tell me,” he mumbled. 

“Maybe one day you’ll figure it out on your own.”   

There was a distant rumble from outside, and Kyungsoo stood, attention focused toward the open sky.  The storm clouds had grown high, heavy with rain.  It wouldn’t take long for the storm to reach the forest.

“We should probably get you down before the rain comes…”

Jongin took one last look around the treehouse, as though it were an oasis, a mirage, that would disappear the moment he took a step away.  His eyes jumped from object to object, searching for the something in particular.  Something that gave away the presence of another person, someone that wasn’t Kyungsoo.  

_Was he happy here, the person that Kyungsoo still loves?  Is this where they both stayed? Together?_

 Jongin couldn’t tell.  He wished it didn’t bother him so much.  “Okay,” he said, crawling to the edge of the planks.  “Let’s go.”

—~~—

The rain reached them shortly after they started climbing down, and Kyungsoo felt a sick sense of foreboding curl in his gut.  

The water was making the tree branches slick, and even though he was climbing down in front of Jongin, stopping as often as he could to turn around and offer a hand, the younger boy was, for some reason, refusing to accept his help.  Jongin moved slowly, carefully, his eyes fixed on the his next step instead of on Kyungsoo.  

The rain was loud around them, pattering against the leaves and roaring to the ground.  Kyungsoo tried to keep his patience in check, wanting nothing more than to just scoop the Human up and get them down in seconds.  Safely. 

Kyungsoo turned back to climbing.  He could handle this, he could stay perfectly calm—

Right at that moment, Jongin let out a high sound of distress, and Kyungsoo turned just in time to see him slip from his branch.

Kyungsoo moved without thinking.  He shot downward, using his powers to manipulate the foliage, trying to reach Jongin before he hit the ground.

 _Save him,_ Kyungsoo demanded the Wilds. _Slow him down._ And he felt the forest respond, vines shifting to cradle Jongin and dampen his fall, branches subtly moving to ease his way.

Kyungsoo landed on the forest floor just before Jongin crashed though the lower branches of the canopy, and Kyungsoo quickly positioned himself so that the Human fell into his arms.  The Earth Spirit grunted as the force of the fall slammed them both into the muddy earth.  

They laid there for a moment, both breathing heavily, Jongin’s backpack squished uncomfortably beneath Kyungsoo’s back.  Kyungsoo took stock of the situation, his heart pounding in his chest.  Jongin was completely on top of him, face buried in Kyungsoo’s neck, legs heavy against Kyungsoo’s own, unmoving.  

Several more seconds passed, the rain still hissing around them, and finally Jongin lifted his head.  His bangs were plastered to his forehead, water pooling down his cheeks and dripping from the pout of his lips.  

“You— how did you—?”

Kyungsoo stared up at him intently, ignoring his words.  “Are you okay?”

Jongin’s brows furrowed.  “I’m fine.“

Kyungsoo blinked, his vision going blurry for a second.   

_Kai?_

He blinked again, his eyes still playing trick on him.  The Flower Spirit had always loved the rain, would insist on running through the puddles until he was soaked and as saturated as the plants.  And Kyungsoo loved it best when the Flower Spirit would catch him in the middle of it all, press his lips hard against Kyungsoo’s, slick with rain and good energy.   

Kyungsoo reached out and slowly cupped Kai’s face, an overwhelming range of emotion igniting within his chest.

_I miss you, I want you, come back._

“Kyungsoo?”

He blinked, and suddenly remembered where he was.  The backpack was digging into his skin, the person on top of him was holding stock still, eyes wide.  Kyungsoo had lifted himself upward, so that their faces were close.  They were practically breathing the same air, his hand still settled against Jongin’s face.  The Human’s eyes darted down to Kyungsoo’s lips and back up.

_Not Kai, Jongin._

Kyungsoo rolled them over, pushed the Human away with a gruff shove.  He stood and dropped the backpack to the ground.  “Go home, Jongin.”

He half expected a protest, a look of hurt confusion, but Jongin stood without a word, grabbing his backpack and hefting it over his shoulders.  The Earth Spirit watched the Human boy turn and dart down the path that led to the waterfall, a weird sense of anger beginning to creep through his veins.  

He was alone.  Again.  No Kai. No Jongin.  Just he and the last of the Wilds.  

He had nothing.  

_Nothing, nothing, nothing._

Kyungsoo wanted to scream, shout, drop every bit of his power into the earth and rip it apart.  He wanted to disappear.  

He wanted to get off this forsaken piece of land, and he knew the rules, the stipulation he had to fulfill.  He knew exactly what he had to do, but he would not, _he would not_ , betray Kai in order to do it. 

Kyungsoo took to the trees and headed in the opposite direction of Jongin.  He sank into himself, allowed the most basal nature of his spirit to take over his mind and drown out all of his emotions. 

He needed to remember who he was, and why he was here.  He was the forest, a Spirit of the Wilds, and Humans would always, _always_ be the enemy. 

—~~—

A week passed, the last week of the summer camp session, and Jongin sat on the boulder, alone. 

The sun began to set, and still Jongin sat.  It wasn’t until darkness touched the tips of the trees that he stood with a sigh.  

“Next summer is my last summer, Kyungsoo.”

The Earth Spirit didn’t move from his hidden spot, his face carved of stone.

“I just wanted you to know that.”

Jongin left, shoulders slumped, lips pressed together in a frown.

Kyungsoo let him go.

\--~~--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  Wow, I really want to finish this story by Christmas!!  That deadline is only a month away now... yikes.    Hope everyone is doing well!  Thanks for reading, and thank you so much to everyone who left a comment last chapter.  <3
> 
> -RedThreads


	5. (18)

\--~~--

18

 

Jongin reached the meadow that contained the the waterfall, and threw his backpack down. He was breathing sharp and uneven, seemingly unable to expand his lungs because of the lump that sat in his chest.

He was just outside of the forest, and he was too nervous to venture any further.  

Too afraid of what he’d find— or wouldn’t find—waiting for him in the clearing.  

Another fall, winter, and spring had passed, another round of seasons spent drowning in his thoughts and insecurities regarding Kyungsoo.    

Jongin put his hands on his hips and begin to pace, stopping every once in a while to thread his fingers through his overgrown hair.  He needed to gather his emotions and figure out how he wanted to approach this situation.  If Kyungsoo were there, waiting for him, should Jongin bring up what had happened in the clearing last summer?  Maybe he should just pretend it had never happened, that’s likely what Kyungsoo would do…

…but then, this was his last summer, and he really felt like they needed to talk about it.  He _wanted_ to talk about it.  

Jongin released a heavy sigh and hung his head.  He’d had all winter long to think about this and he still couldn’t figure out how he wanted to react.  

A gentle breeze brushed past, and Jongin found himself relaxing just a bit, mesmerized by the soft movements of the grass and the flowers.  He crouched down, reached out to caress the soft petals of an amaryllis, so bright and red amongst the other plants.  There was a small cluster of them concentrated in this particular spot, and Jongin cleared his mind and took a moment to simply enjoy the sight of them.   

Some of the emotions that had been warring within him quieted down.  The flowers brushed against his skin in a tickling dance, and he felt a blooming sense of hope expand within him.  

He stood from his place, and turned his gaze toward the treeline.  He would walk to the clearing, and he would talk to Kyungsoo.

About everything.

He situated his backpack on his shoulders, and strode toward the forest. 

—~~—

When he stepped into the clearing, he was unsurprised to find it empty and silent.  Unsurprised, but still let down.  Some of the anticipation in his system began to drain.    

The door to the cabin was slightly ajar, and as Jongin moved closer, he could tell that it had probably been that way for a while now.  There was leaf litter piled up on the floor, cobwebs hanging in the corners, a couple of animal prints outlined in mud.  

Kyungsoo hadn’t been here in months.

He huffed out a breath and stepped back into the sunlit clearing, heading toward his usual spot on the boulder. 

Time to wait.  

Again.

He’d done it before, he could do it one more time.

Of course… of all the times he’d waited, Kyungsoo had maybe shown up once.  Jongin sat down slowly and shook his head, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts creeping inward.

But it was hard.

The sun was hot and heavy against his skin, the boulder hard and uncomfortable beneath him.  It took only ten minutes of sitting there for a familiar anger to begin to build within Jongin.  It built, and built, and built.  That same expanding anger that had been growing within him for the last few months he’d been away.  

A drop of sweat ran down the back of his neck, and the forest remained silent.

No sign of Kyungsoo to be found.

All at once, Jongin’s anger crested.  

It was so _unfair_ for Kyungsoo to be the one who decided how this strange relationship worked.  He was there when he wanted to be, and gone when it suddenly suited him best.  Friendly, open, and revealing, and then cold, quiet, and distant.  Kyungsoo was just as mercurial as the changing weather.  

And Jongin, stupid Jongin, he was so obsessed, so enamored, that he couldn’t stay away, even when it was obvious that Kyungsoo wanted nothing to do with him.

And _why_ did Kyungsoo want nothing to do with him? Well, that was something Jongin still couldn’t figure out.  He assumed that it very much had something to do with that particular moment on the forest floor last summer.  The one where Kyungsoo had saved his life and pulled him so close.  The one where Jongin was so sure — for a split second — that the older male was going to press their lips together.

The one where Kyungsoo must have realized how badly Jongin wanted him… and then immediately pushed him away.

Jongin had thought about that moment over and over again, analyzed it from every angle, tried to figure out what had exactly gone wrong…

And the only conclusion he could come to was that Kyungsoo _knew_.  Kyungsoo knew exactly how Jongin felt, and did not, in any way, feel the same. 

It hurt.  

And Jongin was tired of hurting.

Thoughts of Kyungsoo used to be fun and bright, make his heart speed with excitement.  But now he just got a sick ball of anxious guilt in his stomach.  That same feeling he got when he _knew_ he’d done something wrong and he was just waiting for the eventual punishment.

But with Kyungsoo he could never figure out _what_ he’d done wrong.  The feeling was always there, but Jongin could never understand why he deserved it.

Jongin realized now that he had to let this go.

He had to let Kyungsoo go.  

He would make this the last time he hiked into the forest, the last time he sat on this fucking stupid _rock_ waiting for someone who didn’t even care enough to tell him to Stop. Coming. Back. 

This would be the last time he waited for Kyungsoo, and then Jongin would leave for good, forget he’d ever even gone to summer camp and met a boy in the woods.

But he had something he needed to say first.  Words he needed to put into the air.

Jongin stood from his spot, breathing hard.  He slung his backpack down and made a decision.  If Kyungsoo wasn’t going to come to him, then he would go to Kyungsoo.

He reached for the closest branch, his grip tight and determined.  He swung upwards with ease, his body moving with the grace of a person who was utterly confident in their ability to climb.  He’d kept that promise to himself from last summer, had settled into his growing limbs and began to workout at the local gym.  He was older and stronger this year, and he would make it up to that treehouse on his own.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Jongin’s head whipped around, eyes searching for Kyungsoo’s location.  He spotted the older male’s figure a few branches above him, carefully camouflaged, carefully folded in that same posture that he had held the first time Jongin had ever seen him.  One leg propped up, the other dangling below.  An air of cool nonchalance.  

Jongin swallowed and held onto that anger that was still flaring in his chest.  He stood on his branch, and braced his hand on the tree trunk, drawing strength from its solid form.  He stared up at Kyungsoo with determination. 

“We need to talk.”

Kyungsoo didn’t move.  Jongin kept speaking.  

“I have something to tell you.”

The leaves shivered as the older male dropped down several branches, his eyes dark and hooded.  

“So speak.”

Jongin inhaled, trying to gather his thoughts, trying to figure out where to start.  He actually had so much he wanted to say.  “I’m going to college next week.  It’ll be far away from here.  On the coast.”  He fleetingly wondered if Kyungsoo even knew what ‘college’ was.  “Which means I won’t be coming back here anymore.”

Jongin held still, half-hoping for a reaction, but there was nothing.  No gasp of surprise, no words of congratulations or half-hearted sadness at his impending departure.  

Nothing.  Jongin frowned, his heart pounding in his chest as his next words built in his throat.  He couldn’t hold them back any longer.  “You must know how I feel about you, right?”

Kyungsoo stared back, eyes so dark and unfathomable in the shadows of the thick leaves.  Jongin studied him, looking deep, hoping to see even the slightest hint that the male returned his affections.    

But there was nothing. 

Nothing.

_He knows how you feel.  He’s always known._

Jongin nodded slowly in sudden understanding, his eyes still fastened to Kyungsoo’s.  “I’m not him, am I?  I’m not him, so I’ll never be good enough.”

Jongin stood then, turning his head away from the the other male, and blinking rapidly.  “I’m an idiot.  I’m always an idiot,” he mumbled as he swung down from his branch.  He landed on the boulder in a clumsy crouch, in too much of a hurry to care that one of his knees had scraped and was bleeding.  Jongin snatched his backpack up and started toward the path that would lead him back to camp, his steps quick and gaze focused.

As he reached the path, a bright red amaryllis caught his sight, and he slowed to a stop.  He stood there for a moment, his anger still hot in his veins, remembering his determination from earlier.

He and Kyungsoo _would_ talk.

Jongin threw his backpack off right there and ran back to the boulder, climbing to stand on top of it and glare up at Kyungsoo.

“Why won’t you tell me who you really are?”

“You wouldn’t believe me, even if I tried.”

“I’m not a _kid_ anymore, I think I can handle the truth!”

“No.  I don’t think you could.”

The calm disdain in Kyungsoo’s voice only served to flare Jongin’s anger to greater heights.

“You know, sometimes I just think you’re a figment of my imagination.  It’s like I’ve actually gone crazy.  That—that I’m hiking out into the middle of nowhere and just sitting on a rock and talking to myself.”  Jongin exhaled heavily, his breath catching on a bitter laugh.  He ran a hand through his sweaty bangs and turned in a circle.  “Are you real?  Did I just create you because I’m so lonely?  Because I’m a loser and can’t connect with anyone but a fake person I created?”  

At this point he had tears pricking his eyes.  His chest was wide open and bleeding with all of his pent up emotions and feelings, and still… Kyungsoo didn’t move.  His expression didn’t change, his dark eyes piercing and cold.  

Jongin inhaled deeply, all of that hurt and helplessness seeming to snag and catch on the fractured pieces inside of him.  “Fuck you.”  His voice was shaking, his hands were shaking, he was about to collapse in on himself, and Kyungsoo obviously just didn’t _care._    

“And what if I told you you were right?” 

Jongin narrowed his eyes, watching as Kyungsoo began to move, standing from his perch and pacing toward the end of the branch, the part that was thin and weak.  

“What if I told you that you are the only human in this world that can see me and that I only exist in this space right here?”  

The branch groaned and made a loud snapping sound as Kyungsoo stood at the most fragile point.  The branch broke, dangling sadly, and in the same moment it drooped, Kyungsoo’s hand shot out, palm up.  And Jongin watched in complete silence as several branches curled toward Kyungsoo, moving quickly and of their own volition.  Kyungsoo grabbed onto them and allowed them to twine around his forearms and lower him down, down, down to where Jongin stood.  

“What if I told you that I wasn’t human?  That I possessed the ability to control the forest at my will?  To move the earth as if it were alive?”  Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, stalking closer to Jongin and Jongin held his breath, tilting back as the older male drew right up into his face.  “Would you believe me?”

Jongin’s heart kicked in his chest.  He didn’t know what to believe anymore.  But in that moment, he got the very distinct feeling that Kyungsoo was speaking the truth.  He could see that ancient wildness in Kyungsoo’s irises, reflecting dark and dangerous.

And Jongin realized that somehow, in his mind, Kyungsoo had _always_ just been a part of the forest.  He was in a category of his own, some kind of… Other.  

“And you’re right,”  Kyungsoo continued, his hand snaking out grip the back of Jongin’s neck.  Jongin jerked, flinching at the touch.  Kyungsoo only pulled him closer.  Close enough to brace their foreheads together so Jongin had no choice but to stare straight at the older male.  “You’re _not_ him, and you _never_ will be.”

Jongin closed his eyes and let the words wash over him.  Words he’d repeated to himself constantly. They still hurt ten thousand times more coming from Kyugnsoo’s mouth.

“He was killed by a human,”  Kyungsoo continued.  “A selfish, dirty, _disgusting_ human that wanted more land and refused to negotiate.  She murdered him right in front of me.”

Jongin’s entire body was shaking now, tears squeezing out from the edge of his closed eyelids.  Everything just _hurt._  

“He looked just like you.  Same color eyes, same color hair, same build and stature.  Even your voice sounds just like his.”

Kyungsoo’s grip was harsh now, nails digging into Jongin’s neck.  Jongin clenched his teeth and didn’t say a word.

“He was a Spirit of the Wilds, just like me, and we wanted nothing more than to live in peace, but you _humans…_ you only know how to steal and destroy.” 

“It wasn’t me,” Jongin said weakly, not sure if he was reminding Kyungsoo or reassuring himself.  “I would never—“

“No,”  Kyungsoo interrupted.  “But it will be.  You’ll turn out just like the rest of them.”

Kyungsoo let him go, and Jongin felt his knees buckle.  He hit the hard surface of the boulder, and grimaced in pain.  He opened his eyes and stared downward, vaguely registering that both of his kneecaps were bloody now.  Little red smears.  So red.  Like the petals of an amaryllis.

Jongin sat like that for a very long time, tears still streaking down his cheeks, mind numb and thoughts scattered.  He didn’t know if Kyungsoo was still standing there, and he didn’t care. 

Eventually he found enough strength within himself to get down from the boulder and trudge through the clearing to his backpack.  He reached into the front pocket, rummaging around until his hand found the glossy surface of a photograph.  He pulled it out and stared at it for half a second, before walking slowly back toward the boulder.  

Jongin placed the photo on the boulder with the utmost care, and then he turned and started his last trek through the forest.

Back toward camp.

Back toward the humans.

Back to the place he belonged.       

—~~—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  :( :( :(  Poor Jongin.  
> 
> Comments give me life!  Thanks to everyone who left a comment last chapter!  I'm still on track for that Christmas deadline.  Yay!
> 
> My Twitter handle if you're interested ---->  @RedThreadss   
> 
> -Red_Threads


	6. (19)

—~~—

19

 

Sometimes Kyungsoo couldn’t breathe with how much his chest ached. 

Sometimes he just sat in one place for hours on end, and didn’t move a muscle, just stared into the distance at nothing. 

He hardly had the strength to venture out of his treehouse.  Everything around him seemed a little more dull, a little less bright.  A lot more ugly.

His powers were weak, the energy of the forest not good.  

It had been one year since Jongin had walked out of Kyungsoo’s territory.  

Kyungsoo tried very hard not to notice that the amaryllis flowers did not bloom that year.

—~~—

Every once in a while, Kyungsoo would catch a shadow out of the corner of his eye… the shadow of a figure darting between the trees.

Beckoning.

Every once in a while, Kyungsoo would give in, and chase after it.

Even though he knew he was just chasing a vision.  A ghost.

In and out of the trees, he could catch glimpses of Kai’s strong back, white shirt billowing around him as he moved, bare feet pattering on the earth.  

Kyungsoo would draw close to him, hand out-stretched, so close—

Kai would disappear behind a branch, out of view, and come out on the other side, and Kyungsoo would find himself staring at the same figure, but knowing, just _knowing_ that it was Jongin this time. 

And Kyungsoo would stop in place, weak, out of breath, body petrified and words building in his throat as Jongin slowed to a walk, head bowed as he made his way toward the edges of the forest.  Never stopping to stare back, or say goodbye. 

Gone.

Forever.

—~~—

On his worse days, there were two figures, Kai and Jongin, mirroring each other as they moved through the bare branches.  

Neither of them ever looked back at Kyungsoo.  They were always always moving forward, always moving away, staring at something in the distance that Kyungsoo couldn’t make out.

Occasionally, the two figures would share glances with each other, eyes catching and holding, even as they continued to move.

Always moving, just out of reach.

Back toward the Human city.

Away from the Wilds.

Away from Kyungsoo.

—~~—

“Kyungsoo?”

The Earth Spirit didn’t move.

“Kyungsoo…?  Hey, _Kyungsoo!”_

There were suddenly hands on his shoulders, shaking him harshly, causing his vision to jerk back into focus.  A panicked face swam into his vision, vaguely familiar and wholly unexpected.  He blinked several times.

“Joonmyun?” Kyungsoo croaked, voice scraping from disuse.  “What are you doing here?”

“What _happened_ to you?”

Kyungsoo just continued to blink up at his old friend, realizing that parts of his vision were obscured by his overgrown bangs.  Joonmyun cupped his face, brushed his hair aside, and stared down at him in obvious distress.

“How long have you been sitting on this boulder?”

Kyungsoo honestly didn’t know the answer to that.  An hour?  A day?  Two weeks?

Longer than his body needed to sit with his legs folded and back curved.  But one day he’d sat down and then he just… didn’t get up again.  What was the point anymore?  

“Come on,” Joonmyun whispered, his voice cracking. “I can’t lose you too.”

If it weren’t for the Bind keeping him in existence, Kyungsoo would be long gone.  Completely burned out.  

He clenched his teeth on a whine as Joonmyun carefully pushed him over so that he was lying on his side.  The Water Spirit slowly extended Kyungsoo’s legs out, rubbing feeling back into each one.  He moved along his body, massaging his back and shoulders, pulling his arms up and unclenching his hands. 

“What’s this?”

It took Kyungsoo a while to figure out what the older Spirit was referring to. “A photograph. I think.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that.  But…I mean, why do you have it?”

Kyungsoo remained quiet, his thoughts threatening to overwhelm him again.  Joonmyun seemed to sense the change in his mood, and immediately dropped the subject. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long,” he murmured, as he went back to massaging. The smooth backing of the photograph was slipped back into Kyungsoo’s grip, and the Earth Spirit relaxed ever so slightly.  He felt better with it close to him.  “Minseok wasn’t doing so well on the coast.”

Kyungsoo grunted, allowing the Water Spirit to turn him over so that he was looking up into the canopy of the trees. 

_It must be winter_.  

There were hardly any leaves on the branches. 

“In fact,”  Joonmyun continued, “that’s why I came back here.  I think…I think Minseok is about to lose himself to the darkness. The pollution has gotten a lot worse, and thousands of sea animals are dying.  He’s full of so much hate, Kyungsoo... I don’t know how to help him anymore.”

Kyungsoo could feel waves of sadness pulsing off the Water Spirit, and he could feel it stir in himself as well.  Another Spirit of the Wilds, lost to the darkness of human influence.  A shame.    

“I’m scared of what he’ll do if he loses himself to that black energy.  There’s a Human town on the coast, close to his ocean territories—“

Kyungsoo stopped breathing.  

“—he might flood the whole thing to get revenge.  It’ll kill everyone.”

Kyungsoo sat up, moving so fast his vision blurred, and Joonmyun flinched away.  “This town, does it have a college?”

Joonmyun looked startled at the sudden question.  “A college?  You mean one of those places where young adult Humans go to die?”

“Wait, _what?”_    

“I don’t think that’s what actually happens, they just always complain of it.  There is a college in the town.  Very close to the ocean.  I spent a lot of time there while I was working with Minseok.  They had very nice fountains with pretty good energy and—“

_Maybe it isn’t the same college.  Maybe Jongin is on a different coast, safe and sound, far away from any wrathful Spirits._

Kyungsoo’s thoughts were going faster than the whip of a vine, flipping through every worse case scenario he could imagine.  

“—And I think there may actually be a way to stop him.”

Kyungsoo’s mind came to a screeching halt.  He tuned back into the conversation.  “A way to stop Minseok?  How?  By talking him down?”

Joonmyun’s expression had gone grave and thoughtful.  “It’s too late for that.  I think there’s only one way to keep him from destroying himself and the town, and… well, you may not like it.”

Joonmyun’s eyes slowly dropped to the boulder, and Kyungsoo’s did too.  A moment passed where they both just stared at the rock, and then suddenly Kyungsoo understood.  He inhaled in betrayal and scrambled to his feet.  “You want to _Bind_ him to something?”

“It’s the only way to save him from himself, Kyungsoo.  You would’ve burnt yourself out centuries ago if it weren’t for the Bind.  We can’t keep losing Spirits like this.”  Joonmyun was on his feet too, hands clenched into fists.  They were both breathing hard, and Kyungsoo could feel his legs shaking, but he refused to back down on this.

“I wouldn’t wish this fate on anyone.”

“And meanwhile, Minseok will destroy himself, and an entire city of Humans.”

“What do you expect _me_ to do about it anyways?  I didn’t Bind _myself_ to this boulder.  I don’t even know how it’s done!”

Joonmyun began to pace.  “Luhan and I have been searching for a Human Shaman.  If we can just find someone who can—”

“Luhan is in on this _too_?”

“Will you help or not Kyungsoo?”

The Earth Spirit grew quiet, burning with indignant rage.  He did not like this.  

He did not like this _one bit._

“We must find a way to communicate with the Humans,” Joonmyun said softly.  “Or we Spirits will cease to exist in these forms, and the Wilds, the earth, the ocean, everything here…will die.”

For so long Kyungsoo had let his bitter hate for Humans guide his every move.  Imagining an age of co-habitation, of good energy, and pure souls once more.  It just didn’t seem possible.

Kyungsoo stared down at the picture that was clenched in his hand.  “It’s not like I can do much.  I can’t even leave these territories.”

Joonmyun raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly toward the photograph.  “Can’t you? Or _won’t_ you?”

Kyungsoo glared.

“You know what Kai would want you to do, Kyungsoo—“

“Don’t!” Kyungsoo snapped.  “Don’t you dare bring him into this.”

“I will!  For too long you’ve been shutting him out,”  Joonmyun growled back, his voice rising.  The Water Spirit threw his arms out wide, gesturing around them.  “He’s still here.  He has always been here.  We are Spirits of the Wilds, and as long as the Wilds exist, then so do we in some form or another.  But listen to him, Kyungsoo.  He’s trying to communicate with you. _”_

Kyungsoo trembled with suppressed rage.  “Just _go,_ Joonmyun.  _Go!_ ”

The Water Spirit jumped down from the boulder and made his way toward the edge of the clearing.  “Don’t wait too long to decide, Kyungsoo.  Meet me at my Waterfall when you’re ready.”

 _“Leave!”_  

—~~— 

One day passed, and then two, and guilt began to spread within Kyungsoo like a crippling disease.  Guilt for fighting with Joonmyun, guilt for sitting by and not even trying to help Minseok, guilt for ignoring so many obvious signs that Kai had been shoving in his face.  

The forest constantly trying to comfort him.  

The visions of Kai and Jongin darting in and out the trees.

The non-blooming amaryllis.

He’d had an explanation for all of them.  His own Spirit abilities, his depression, bad energy.  But not Kai.  Not Kai trying to tell him something.  

On the third day of tormenting himself, guilt wracking his frame and thoughts of Jongin disappearing into the dark ocean, Kyungsoo stood up and screamed. 

Just screamed.  Just let it all out.  

He screamed for as long and as hard as he could, until his lungs couldn’t compress any further.  And then he stood on the boulder, panting, his quick breaths crystallizing in the cool winter air.  

“What should I do?” he called weakly.  “Do you _want_ me to go?”

_Do you want me to break this Bind?_

The Flower Spirit did not call back, of course, but Kyungsoo stood still, waiting, for something, anything.  A moment passed in complete silence, and then a shadowy figure appeared on the edge of the clearing, his back to Kyungsoo.

_Kai._

The shadow figure began to move, and Kyungsoo scrambled down, following after him as quickly as he could.  He followed him the same as he did every time, eyes focused on his familiar back, heart hammering in his chest, wishing he could reach out and touch him, just one last time… but this time, he knew that Kai was taking him somewhere, and all he had to do was believe and follow.

Soon enough, the Earth Spirit could hear the familiar roar of a waterfall, bringing his memories back to that fatal day all those centuries ago.  His steps faltered as the shadow figure faded from view.  Kyungsoo had not been back to this clearing since the day Kai had vanished. 

A breeze brushed around him, unseasonably warm, and Kyungsoo felt his anxiety dim.  “Are you sure this is what you want me to do?” he questioned into the air.  

The breeze grew frenzied, strong, and suddenly Kyungsoo could swear there was a body pressed against him from behind, wrapping him in a warm embrace.  

And then pushing him forward.

Urging him onward.  

Kyungsoo took a deep breath.  “I’ll always love you, Kai.”

The breeze ruffled his too-long hair, and then spun upwards, leaving him in absolute stillness.

The Earth Spirit wiped his eyes and then took one step forward, and then another.  This was usually the point at which the noose around his neck began to tighten, the Bind calling him back into his territories… his prison.  

Kyungsoo closed his eyes, held his breath, and took another step forward.

_Nothing._

He squinted one eye open and looked down, reached up to feel around his neck.  

Nothing.  No pain, no choking, no overwhelming urge to fall to the ground and crawl back into the forest.  He felt nothing.  

Kyungsoo blinked and stared at the clearing in front of him.  The waterfall was falling peacefully a few hundred feet away, and not too far from that the ravine crumbled outward.  Kyungsoo could see exactly where he’d been standing when he’d cracked it open.  

And there…he looked away, not wanting to think about what had transpired in _that_ particular spot. 

The Earth Spirit moved further into the clearing, his body trembling with weightlessness.  

He was out of the forest, his territories, for the first time in centuries.  Which meant the Bind was broken…which meant—

—He was in love with a Human.  

_“How do you know when you’re in love?” Jongin had blurted._

_“You know you’re in love because you find yourself thinking about the other person all the time,”  Kyungsoo had said lowly.  “You want to know what makes them happy, what makes them sad?  If they aren’t right next to you, you wonder what they could be doing instead.  They make your heart beat fast, but at the same time you feel so calm around them, comfortable…. You’d do anything for them.  Be anything for them.”_

He was in love with Jongin. 

He was _in love_ with Jongin.   

He picked up his steps, began to run. _“Joonmyun!”_ he shouted.

The Water Spirit appeared from behind the waterfall, an incredulous smile on his face.  “You came!”  

Kyungsoo slowed his steps as he reached the edge of the pool, feeling for the photo that was carefully stashed in the pocket of his tunic.  A photo that he’d stared at for months now.  A picture of he and Jongin sitting on the boulder, Jongin maybe all of 16 years old, smiling so brightly at the camera, and Kyungsoo peering from just over his shoulder, expression blank and eyes wide.  Kyungsoo remembered the moment well.  He hadn’t ever been that close to a Human in his entire existence.  Jongin had taken the photo with that contraption he’d referred to as a ‘cell phone’.

Kyungsoo treated the image like a lifeline now.  “I can find a Shaman,” Kyungsoo said lowly, “but you have to promise he won’t get hurt.”

Joonmyun’s smile settled into something more serious.  “The safest place he could be is with us, Kyungsoo.  We just need to speak with him.  He may not agree to this at all.  But right now, he’s our only hope.”

Kyungsoo stared down at the photo again, tracing his thumb over Jongin’s happy face.  Hoping he could make it to him before Minseok wreaked havoc on the entire coast.  Kyungsoo would do anything to keep Jongin safe.  

“Are you ready?”

Kyungsoo swallowed and put the photograph back into his tunic, staring out into the unknown distance.  Staring at a world he only knew through bits and pieces of trash people had left behind.  And the stories of one young Human boy. 

“More than ready.”

—~~—  

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  FINALLY!  That slow burn is burning now.  I thought we'd never get to this point!  
> 
> Comment, kudo, subscribe, bookmark.  All of these options are amazing (but comments are my fav, just saying). 
> 
> Twitter---> @RedThreadss
> 
> -Red_Threads


	7. (20)

\--~~--

20

 

Joonmyun did his best to explain everything as they made their way into the coastal city.  They’d moved as Spirits do, keeping to rivers and strips of wooded forest, making it to the city’s outskirts by nightfall.  As they’d drawn closer, buildings had begun cropping up like fungi on a log.  Here, there.  Suddenly more all at once.  Kyungsoo’s senses were going haywire.   

“When I first arrived to help Minseok, this city was hardly more than a fishing village,” Joonmyun informed him.  “But the population began to grow and so did the demand for trade and goods.  Pretty soon it became a big trading port.”

Kyungsoo was listening, but he grew very still as a sudden wailing sound blasted through the forest.  An _inhuman_ wailing that climbed up and down in a haunting pitch.

“ _What is that?”_ he hissed, crouching low to the ground and clamping his hands over his ears as the lonesome sound drew closer.  It almost sounded like the distorted howl of a wolf.

Joonmyun gripped his shoulder and pulled him up.  “It’s fine.  Just an emergency vehicle.  Look over there.  See that thing moving?  The Humans call it a firetruck.”

Kyungsoo blinked owlishly as bright red pulses of light flashed through the trees and the sound blared through his brain.

“It makes that sound to warn the Humans to get out its way so it can get to the emergency faster,” the Water Spirit yelled.

The two males held their place on the fringe of the forest and city, waiting for the final sounds of the machine to disappear from hearing.  

“I hate it,” Kyungsoo said bluntly, thinking of his quiet forest, the gentle dance of shadow and sunlight on lonesome branches.  The Earth Spirit sighed and glanced to his side, allowing his awareness with the Earth to sink down and spread out a bit.  “There’s a large dwelling very close,” he murmured.  “Can we stay there for the night?”

“It’s probably old industrial warehouse,” Joonmyun said, gaze still fixed in the direction the firetruck had gone.  “We should be able to stay for a bit.”

Kyungsoo began to walk, following the invisible path that the Earth and trees were communicating back to him.  “What’s a warehouse?”  

“A place where the Humans began mass producing all kinds of machines and goods.  A lot of them are right on the oceanfront.”  Joonmyun gestured toward the large metal building that rose before them.  Its high windows were dark, doors left agape like a weird, open mouth.  “A lot of the waste products from whatever they were making began to go straight into the ocean…”

Kyungsoo hummed low in his throat.  He could feel the sour Energy from this place settling within him like a dull stomach ache.  “And the sea animals began to die?”

Joonmyun’s mouth was fixed in a tight line, as he stared at the rusted biulding.  “A lot more than just the sea animals began to die.”

_Minseok…_

“I changed my mind,”  Kyungsoo muttered, feeling that dark Energy curl inside of him like the delicate tendril of a creeping vine.  “Let’s keep moving.”

They left the warehouse, its doors wide open, mouth screaming into the night with no one to hear it.

_—~~—_

This new world that the Humans had created was nothing like Kyungsoo had imagined it would be.  He honestly wanted to hate everything about it, but as they drew deeper into the city, he found himself reluctantly…charmed.

Maybe it was just something about this particular coastal city.

Maybe it was the lights at night, which were bright and glowing, reflecting all different colors, almost like pink and blue and green, neon stars that seemed to flicker within his reach.  Musical sounds began to overlap with the din of machinery and people walking.  Beautiful sounds created by Human instruments.  They made him want to match the chords with his own voice.  

There were smells in this city.  Some good, some bad, and overarching everything the unmistakeable salty scent of the ocean.

Kyungsoo had always pictured lots of rust and metal, a hazy colorless sky, a grey ocean, and so many Humans in one place that you could barely move.  

And maybe some of that was true.  There _was_ a lot of metal.  

Tall metal buildings that seemed to expand upward, higher than the tallest tree Kyungsoo had ever climbed.  Those fast moving metal _things_ called “cars”, transporting Humans back and forth faster than Kyungsoo could follow with his eyes.  Weird metal signs, sticking straight up out of the earth like deformed angular plants, and covered in reflective symbols and words.

A lot of metal.

But maybe more Humans.  There were Humans moving around everywhere.  Busy, busy, busy.

Maybe there was a lot that needed to be done when you had only a mortal lifespan to do it in.

“How will you find him?”

They were standing in a fountain (Joonmyun needed the Energy), in the middle of a busy town square, and Kyungsoo had just been questioning the same thing.  There were so many people going in and out of Kyungsoo’s line of sight, he could barely keep track.   So many Humans, and yet, not a single one turned to stare in curiosity at the two males standing in the frigidly cold water.  Not a single one that could even tell they existed.  

“I think I have an idea,” Kyungsoo muttered. 

The trees that dotted the city were no trees of the Wilds, but they were still plants of the Earth, and Kyungsoo still shared a bond with them.  He stepped out of the fountain and made his way toward one of the spindly little trees that stood close by.  The tree reached out to him, humming in greeting.  He closed his eyes and stood close, digging his toes into the small square of soil the roots were allowed.  

 _Have you seen him?_ Kyungsoo conjured a picture of Jongin in his mind, an image similar to the one he’d looked at for the past year, Jongin smiling, all bright, happy energy.  _Is he here?_

The message spread downward, hit the little tree’s roots and passed on to the next tree and the next, spreading like wildfire from one plant to the next.  Kyungsoo closed his eyes and tried to provide different images of Jongin just in case.  He’d studied the Human from afar so many times, had secretly wondered at every minute shift in the younger male’s expression, every crinkle in his brow— 

**_Here._ **

Kyungsoo’s eyes shot open.  _He’s here?_

**_Close by._ **

And an invisible hook began to tug in his gut, the plants and Earth guiding him to where he needed to go.  

 _Thank you!_ He pressed his hand against the bark of the tree and let a bit of his Energy flow into the plant, a fair trade for the information.  

And then he was running, bare feet hitting the cold concrete and Joonmyun calling after him.  

“Where are you going!?”

He didn’t have time to answer.  Kyungsoo ran, turning corner after corner, weaving through people who stared through him like he didn’t exist.  In his haste, he clipped a girl’s shoulder, and she jerked from the collision, her eyes wide as she stared around in confusion.  

Kyungsoo didn’t stop.

Every instinct in his body was pulling him in one direction, guiding him on and on and on, deeper into the heart of the city.  There were people everywhere, bundled up, walking in groups, walking alone, every face different and not the one Kyungsoo was looking for.  He kept going, going, **_keep going_** , the Earth urged…and then, all at once, like a tender leaf that had been collecting water and could no longer stand the weight, that feeling within him expanded and burst. 

**_Here._ **

Kyungsoo froze in place, taking in his surroundings.  

His gaze whipped back and forth, trying to catch sight of that familiar figure, that familiar brown hair. Kyungsoo was standing just outside of a small, vine-covered building, wedged between other quaint little structures and shops.  There were little tables settled outside, mostly empty with the cold weather, but still occupied by a the few brave.  None of them were Jongin.  

Kyungsoo approached the building, studied the purposely trimmed ivy, and read the large headboard settled above the doorway.  “HumaniTree?”  The board went on to explain something about hot drinks and vegan food, and Kyungsoo wasn’t really sure what it even meant, but he knew this is where he was supposed to be.  

He glanced through the window. 

And almost didn’t recognize him.

_Jongin._

The Earth Spirit drew closer to the glass, stared inward without blinking.  Jongin was settled on a chair, his side profile exposed to the window, staring at some weird, bright contraption with a look of utter boredom.  Jongin’s shoulders had gotten broader, his dark brown hair cut in some short Human hairstyle.  His jawline had lost its boyish curve and his cheekbones stood in sharp relief.  

He was no longer the Human boy of Kyungsoo memories.  Hardly a year and half had passed since he’d last seen Jongin, but it felt like it had been a whole lifetime.   

Jongin shifted, stretched his arms above his head, and Kyungsoo’s heart accelerated.

The Human was so close.  Just beyond one thin pane of glass.  

It didn’t feel real.  

Kyungsoo was snapped out of his musings as Jongin began to pack away his things, that bright contraption folding shut with a faint click and a book on the table being packed into a bag.  Kyungsoo just watched, wondering what he should do, how he should approach him after all this time.  

Maybe Jongin wouldn’t even want to talk to him.  Maybe he’d scream, and shout, and tell him to go back to where he came from.  Or maybe he’d be happy?  Smile at Kyungsoo in secret excitement, like he used to do when he came back to the Wilds after a long winter break, and then everything would be okay—

The door creaked and slammed, and then Jongin was outside, not quite facing in Kyungsoo’s direction, staring up at the darkening sky.  The Earth Spirit held completely still, the calm before the storm.  Jongin turned to face him, and Kyungsoo didn’t know what to do.

Everything within his existence narrowed down to this very moment.  

Jongin was staring back at him, eyebrows furrowed, still standing in the doorway and not saying anything.

And then Jongin shook his head and began to walk in Kyungsoo’s direction, his face expressionless, hands shoved in the pockets of his large coat.  Kyungsoo held his breath as Jongin drew closer and closer _._

The Earth Spirit opened his mouth, wanting to say something to break the deafening silence that seemed to stretch between them.

_Closer, closer._

And then Jongin was there, so close that Kyungsoo could reach out and _touch—_  

Kyungsoo blinked.  Stared at the empty space in front of him.  Blinked again.

_No._

The Earth Spirit whipped around, eyes wide, his mind trying to catch up with what had just happened.

Jongin continued to walk down the street.  But there had been no stop in his stride, no change in his expression, no greeting or gasp of surprise.

Absolutely no sign that he’d even noticed Kyungsoo standing there.

He’d walked right past him.  

 _No._  

Throughout the centuries, Kyungsoo had experienced this moment with many Humans.  The blank stare, the lack of acknowledgement, the impenetrable isolation that came with being a ‘non-existent’ entity. 

_No, please, no._

But not with Jongin.  Never with Jongin.  Jongin was different from all the others.  

“Jongin!”  The Earth Spirit called out, voice ragged as he fought against the knot that had begun building in his throat.  “Jongin, wait!”

The Human kept walking.  

—~~—

Jongin didn't know where he was going, only that it was his birthday (his 20th), and he didn't really want to be around anyone.  

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, noting the excited messages from his friends.   

 _Happy birthday!_  

_Have fun tonight!  But don't forget that quiz tomorrow...._

Jongin snorted.  He’d been studying for the quiz all afternoon.  Had even made a good head-start on one of his papers that was due next week.

Anything to keep himself busy.  To keep himself from spiraling into thoughts of how lonely he was.   Of how no matter what he did, where he went, or who he was with, thoughts of a certain dark-eyed male flashed through his mind.  

Kyungsoo was always there, it seemed.  Mocking him, telling him how Human and worthless he was.

Jongin stood from his table in the little shop and stepped outside into the fresh air.  He glanced at the sky, wondering if it was going to snow.  It was cold enough.  Jongin brought his gaze down and turned to walk toward his apartment.

He was only slightly surprised to see the figure by the window.  

_Great..._

Jongin's mind always did get particularly mean when he was feeling low.  It'd been awhile since he'd actually conjured up an vision of Kyungsoo though.

Jongin clenched his jaw and kept moving, gaze shifting to stare just to the side of the spectral vision of Kyungsoo who regarded him from beside the window.  

It wasn't until he stepped past the shorter male that he found he could breathe again. 

"Jongin!"

He kept moving, kept his expression carefully blank.  Kyungsoo’s voice echoed along the street, travelled across Jongin's skin, leaving a familiar wave of goosebumps in its wake. 

_Don't stop.  It's not real, you know that._

"Jongin, wait!”

There was the patter of feet, the sound of pursuit, and then Kyungsoo was in front of him again, still speaking.  

"You can't see me?  You can't hear me either?"

Jongin felt his heart-rate speed, his jacket suddenly a bit _too_ warm.  

This had never happened before.  

These words, that expression.  Those weren't the ones that Kyungsoo usually greeted him with in his imaginings.

Jongin drew to a stop and glanced around, took note of the people who were approaching from the other end of the sidewalk, a small crowd of guys, probably out having a good time.  Across the street a bar pumped out warm light and heavy music.  This was real.  Everything around him.

Not the person that was staring so intently right in front of him.

Jongin shook his head, refusing to meet Kyungsoo's eyes.  He changed directions, and crossed the street, hoping the loud music would chase the vision away.

But just as he made it to the other sidewalk, there was a yank and pull against his backpack.  Jongin pedaled backwards, and then suddenly one of his hand’s was being jerked from it's place in his pocket, fingers exposed to the cold air.  He turned to stare, and found himself face to face with someone who looked entirely too real to be just a figment of his imagination.  

"Jongin, _look at me_." 

He closed his eyes.

"I know you can see me," Kyungsoo's voice was low, but hard as steel.  Lined with a certain desperation.  "I know who you are, and you are _not_ like the rest of them."

Jongin didn't really understand what that meant, but he did know that people were probably staring at him like he was crazy.  To everyone around, he was just standing outside the bar, eyes closed, one hand outside of his pocket.  

"Jongin.  Listen to me.  I was wrong.  I was wrong and I will never forgive myself for the way I treated you. The words I spoke to you, the things I said, I wish I could take them all back.” 

Jongin's breath stuttered as he gasped.  He opened his eyes, but kept them lowered, stared down at Kyungsoo's bare feet.  

"You are the best person I have ever met, Human or Spirit, and despite all of my flaws, you still kept coming back to see me.  I spent so many years, absolutely convinced that Humans were all the same, but you showed me differently.”

Jongin took a risk and raised his eyes, found Kyungsoo staring back at him, expression softened by the sincerity of his words. 

"You are _Jongin_ , and you will never be anyone else, and there is nothing in this world that can change that.  And you should be proud."

There was a weird emotion brewing in Jongin's chest.  A strange pressure.  He still had yet to say a word.

For more than a year now, he'd imagined everything he would say if he could see Kyungsoo again.  He thought maybe he'd yell at him, let some of this pressure in his chest explode outward.  Or maybe he'd just ignore him altogether, and allow some of that pressure within his body to fold inward.  He would self-destruct if it meant that he had the satisfaction of making Kyungsoo feel unwanted.  

But those had all been feelings that had swirled and bubbled soon after he had left the clearing on that fateful summer day.  Some of that anger had simply simmered down into a hot sensation of sadness.  

He missed Kyungsoo.  He missed him _so_ incredibly much.  But he wouldn't go back to a person that didn't want him.  

Not even to check on him.  Not even for closure. 

So all those imaginings, all those visions of Kyungsoo that he saw and ignored from time to time, he folded back within himself, so that it could boil and simmer and add to the dangerous concoction that stirred in his chest.  

But the pressure.  Was so much.    

And now having Kyungsoo seemingly in front of him, stating words of regret.  Telling Jongin that he should be proud of who he was, and that he should never change?

_Fuck that—_

Jongin punched him.  

Kyungsoo fell to the ground with a sound of pained surprise, and that pressure in Jongin finally exploded.  

"You don't get to--,"  Jongin stopped, had to clear his throat, stop the trembling of his fist.  "You don't have the right to come here and tell me that."  

He was breathing so hard, adrenaline pumping through his system.  Kyungsoo stared up at him with wide eyes, hand against his reddening cheek.

"Do you know how hard it's been for me?  To reach out and make friends?  To trust that people genuinely like me, even when they tell me they do?" 

Jongin began to pace, uncaring of what he looked like to the public anymore.  Maybe he'd officially gone crazy.  It was about time anyways.

"You hurt me so badly, and now you're just going to show up out of nowhere and apologize?  Tell me you were wrong?"

Kyungsoo was pulling himself up now, eyes still fixed on Jongin.  "I deserved that."

"How did you even find me?  I thought you couldn't leave the forest..."

"I thought I couldn't either, but I was wrong."

Jongin stared. 

"So you left the Wilds, came here to apologize, and now what, Kyungsoo?"

"And now we need your help."

Jongin jumped at the approach of the figure from across the street.  He glanced back and forth between this new person and Kyungsoo, brow furrowed as the person glanced at Kyungsoo’s cheek with interest.  "Wait--are you… able to see him?"

The male nodded, stepping forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyungsoo.  "Of course Spirits can see each other."

A pair of girls stepped out of the bar, glancing at Jongin in interest before moving down to the next establishment.  They didn't spare a glance at the barefooted men standing together a few feet away.  

 _Oh no._ "Why am I the only one that can see you two?"

He could feel his panic rising.  It was one thing for him to _think_ he was the only one that could see Kyungsoo...it was an entirely different story for him to actually _know_ that was the case.

"Jongin,"  Kyungsoo started, voice low and soothing,  "I know you probably hate me right now.  But something very bad is about to happen, and you may be the only person that can stop it."

Jongin just wanted to go to bed.  "What are you saying?"

"We need your help."

\--~~--

They took him to the ocean.  

Joonmyun did most of the talking on the way, introducing himself as a Water Spirit, and then quickly explaining the state of the situation with Minseok, how a Spirit could go into a sort of dark frenzy and lose themselves in a path to destruction.  Kyungsoo knew the feeling all too well.  Felt like he’d been dangling on that precipice for centuries now, but kept getting pulled back.  

 

“He’s a Spirit of the Ocean.  Minseok controls the tides and the currents of the water, and basically depends on the good energy of the sea life to do so.”  The three of them were standing at the edge of a seawall on the west side of campus, staring out over the ocean as Joonmyun spoke.  The sun was just a sliver of orange on the horizon, glinting off the waves in a mesmerizing pattern as it sank into the ocean.  “But lately that cycle has been disrupted a bit thanks to the Humans.”

Jongin winced, shoulders drooping a bit, and Kyungsoo turned to him.  "But we think you might be able to save him."

"I don't understand how?"

Kyungsoo watched Jongin closely, felt a distinct feeling of _pride_   in the way he absorbed all of this information.  His face was drained of color, his fists clenched around the straps of his backpack, but he was here, and he was listening.  

The sunlight was gone now, the twilight blue of the sky quickly turning to black, the ocean wide and loud as the waves rammed against the seawall.  Kyungsoo could sense Minseok's anger with every hiss of every wave.

"You can do more than just see the Spirits, Jongin.  You can control them."

"Control them?"

"You are what we used to refer to as a Human Shaman.  A Human that can harness the magic of the Wilds.  The magic within us."

"But...," his eyes met Kyungsoo's, expression worried.  "What if I don't want to do that?"

Kyungsoo's gazed slipped back toward the city.  Toward the light, and sounds, and _people._ "These people will die if Minseok loses control of himself, Jongin."

Jongin let out a heavy sigh, staring down at his hands, curling his fingers in and out of his palm, deep in thought. 

"Do I have to…. kill Minseok?"

Kyungsoo didn't know the answer to that.  Joonmyun didn’t respond either.

The Human sighed.  "I can't believe this is even happening."

“You can’t kill a Spirit, Jongin.  He will just cease to exist in his current form.  But pick something to Bind his energy to,"  Kyungsoo finally answered.  "And he will remain here, no matter what.”

The Human just sighed and stared back down at his hands.  _Open, close, open, close._ Kyungsoo wanted to fold them within his own, tell Jongin it would be okay.  But he didn't think Jongin would let him do that.  

And he truly didn't know if everything _would_ be okay.

"How much time do we have?” Jongin finally questioned.

“Time is up.” Joonmyun responded, eyes glowing blue as he focused on the surrounding energy within the waters.  “Minseok is on his way.”  A breeze whipped through the air, coming off the ocean with a stinging malice.  “Luhan is coming too.  He must be trying to stave him off.”

And Kyungsoo could feel their approach like the swell of a tidal wave.  His brethren, his brothers, his fellow Spirits.  They were moving fast, as only Spirits could.  

“How do I do it?  W-what do I do?"

Kyungsoo and Joonmyun’s eyes met over Jongin.  They stared at each other, at a loss. 

"Whatever feels right,” Joonmyun urged.  “Kyungsoo, you would know more about this than me.” The Water Spirit stepped away, moving toward a nearby boardwalk and providing he and Jongin a moment alone.  

Kyungsoo could see the growing horror on Jongin’s face, could already sense his thoughts of _What if I fail?  What if all these people die?  What if it’s my fault?_

“Jongin.”  Kyungsoo settled his hands on the Human’s shoulders and stared into his eyes.  “No matter what happens, you are not alone.”

Jongin looked as though he were barely registering his words, already lost in the spiral of his own mind.  Kyungsoo studied him, and then pulled him close in a hard embrace.  Jongin’s breath whooshed out in a surprised exhale.  

“You can do this,” Kyungsoo whispered into his ear.  Jongin was so warm, so solid, and still in his arms.  Kyungsoo felt his heart quiver and give like a sapling unfurling to the sun.  Maybe, in some way, Jongin had unknowingly been using his powers to help Kyungsoo this entire time.  “You saved me, Jongin.”  The Earth Spirit pulled back to stare into the Human’s eyes.  “…You can save Minseok too.”

Jongin’s expression changed, and Kyungsoo caught a glimpse of the boy he knew, kind, determined, pressing good energy into the world—  

“Kyungsoo!  _Kyungsoo!  Jongin!_ Get ready.  They’re here.”

And then the moment snapped, and Jongin was shuttered once again, pushing away from Kyungsoo and shaking his head.  He ignored Kyungsoo and Joonmyun’s presence and turned to face the ocean.

—~~—

Jongin barely noticed as Kyungsoo and Joonmyun positioned themselves just behind him.  Kyungsoo’s words were bouncing through his mind like a persistent echo, but he didn’t have time to focus on that right now.

_You saved me, Jongin._

He blinked hard and dampened the words, zoning in on the task at hand.  Except… he really didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing.  He was supposed to be Binding a Spirit to an object.  But what did that even mean?  How was supposed to _do_ that?

He was just a student.  A college student who had a quiz tomorrow and an essay due next week.  A basic Human, with basic needs, and an unrequited love for a Spirit of the Wilds, who only he could see.

Jongin _wasn’t_ a Shaman. 

But even as that thought crossed his mind, something within him revolted in defiance.  Jongin clutched his chest and stared out at the night ocean, the spray whipping against his face, wet and stinging.  His hair was stiff with salt.

_Minseok is coming._

Some secret instinct within him whispered that the Ocean Spirit was close by.  And here Jongin was, standing at the edge of a darkened seawall, stuck between the vast darkness of the ocean and the bright spark of the city.  A thin divide between a fragile Human town and the wild threat of the ocean.  

_No matter what happens, you are not alone._

But he felt utterly isolated.

There was nothing he could do now, but wait. 

The wind whipped, the ocean waves seethed, the darkness settled, and Jongin’s skin prickled in warning.  There were two figures standing in the shallows below, city lights revealing the bold colors of their eyes as they stared upward.

Jongin exhaled, knowing exactly which one was Minseok. 

There was a cold disregard in the shorter male's eyes. The same casual hate that had reflected from Kyungsoo's gaze in those early days of Jongin’s visits to the forest.  

 _Human,_ is what that look said.  _Worthless Human._

Maybe it was because Jongin had only really been around one Spirit, but with this many of them gathered, he suddenly found it very apparent that they were all different...in an Otherworldly sort of way.  

The presence of each Spirit was almost something tangible to Jongin.  Behind him, Kyungsoo was a solid and familiar presence, Joonmyun something wary and flickering.  The Spirit named Luhan had a presence that seemed overwhelming, everywhere at once, like an insistent breeze.

And Minseok.

His presence, his _Energy_.  It was like a deep ocean current, twisting and fast-moving beneath a dark surface.  Absolutely volatile. 

"You guys can not stop me,”  the Ocean Spirit called up to them.  “You must know that, so why are you here?“

"Minseok, please don't do this," Joonmyun asked, voice carefully even. 

Jongin held perfectly still, not daring to move a muscle.  He could sense Luhan’s gaze cutting into him, eyeing him appraisingly. 

“I can’t stop it, Joonmyun.  It’s too late for me now.”      

Something was building in the air.  Every hair on Jongin’s body pricking to attention, that same sort of sensation he had gotten when he had first encountered Kyungsoo and could feel him watching from the trees.  

Now that feeling within him pressed and grew, spreading through his veins like a warm injection.   

Maybe something within him had always known what he really was.  Jongin had never fit in with the people around him.  He’d always been a little different.

Maybe it was time for him to accept that part of himself. 

There was a pounding in his veins, a rushing in his ears as he stared down at the Ocean Spirit.  

The rushing grew so loud he could hardly hear himself think. 

Too late he realized it was the sound of the ocean rising up. 

“Jongin…,”  Kyungsoo said slowly, almost yelling over the rush of the water.  “If you’re planning to do anything, you need to do it _now_!”

Jongin wanted to do something.  He really did.  But the ocean water was pulling up high in front of him, reflecting the city lights as it formed a huge tidal wave.  His body was pulsing with untapped power but his mind was utterly blank.  Minseok was rising with the wave, borne upward in a raw display of power, his eyes glowing brightly with madness.  Luhan had disappeared.

Jongin took a step back, heart thudding.

_I can’t do this._

His sixth sense flared again, and there was a familiar figure moving to stand in front of him. 

**_You’re not alone…_ **

Two more figures stepped alongside Kyungsoo, and Jongin suddenly found himself protected by a wall of three Spirits.  In front of them, Minseok continued to swell with power, a black miasma gathering around him.  

Kyungsoo turned his head to glance over his shoulder, and for a split second, he and Jongin made eye contact.  The Earth Spirit’s brows were furrowed, his gaze fierce, protective, _encouraging._

Jongin felt like he was choking on fear, but as Kyungsoo’s eyes began to glow green, something within him settled.

Maybe he couldn’t do it, but he could at least try.  

He glanced around, searching for an object…something to Bind Minseok to.

A curved conch shell caught his eye, left along the wall by a careless collector, but it was several meters away.  He’d have to leave the protection of the Sprits to get to it.  Without another moment of thought, Jongin turned and sprinted toward it as fast as he could.  

Just Jongin’s hand closed around the shell, there was a shout, a rushing hiss, and suddenly Jongin’s breath was knocked from his lungs as he was pummeled by an onslaught of cold ocean water.

—~~—

Kyungsoo saw Jongin’s head disappear beneath a rush of dark water, and his mind immediately conjured every single nightmare he’d had in the last few months.

For a moment he was frozen, vision flashing red. 

He’d promised himself that he would protect Jongin from Minseok’s rage, and he’d immediately failed.  

Kyungsoo felt his own molten rage crack and slide from between his ribs, a scary, hot sensation that had been lying dormant for a very long time.  His Bind to the boulder had kept him safe from falling into that pit of darkness… But there was nothing to hold him back from that dangerous ledge now.

In his mind, Kyungsoo saw that pit yawning before him.

And he couldn’t help but teeter toward it. 

He searched the rushing waters for a sign of Jongin, his powers useless as the waves were sucked back out to sea. 

He took another step toward that dark pit in him mind, felt his emotions getting the best of him.  He would not lose Jongin again, _not like this._

Kyungsoo glanced up from the receding waters, making eye contact with Minseok. The Ocean Spirit was swirling with negative energy, but Kyungsoo’s own destructive force was swelling larger, pulling that negative energy toward himself instead.

“ _Kyungsoo!_ Joonmyun is looking for him!  Calm down, or we’ll lose you too!”  

Luhan’s voice was like a dull roar in his ears.  He couldn’t break his gaze away from the Spirit that had dragged Jongin beneath the ocean.  

Minseok would pay.  That dark pit expanded in Kyungsoo’s mind, beckoning, dragging everything in.  Kyungsoo was a collapsing star, and Minseok was being pulled into his abyss.  

“Wait, Kyungsoo…you’re…you’re absorbing his energy!  What’s happening?  What are you _doing?_ ”

Kai was gone.  And now Jongin.  Again.  

Kyungsoo wanted nothing to do with this place anymore.

He moved toward Minseok, steadily draining the Ocean Spirit of dark energy.  Kyungsoo vaguely realized that he was the threat. The enemy.  He was about to lose all control, and he just didn’t care—

A frenzied, hoarse chanting broke his concentration.  

Kyungsoo paused, tilted his head.  He turned his head, slowly, so slowly.  

And there, standing on the jut of the nearby boardwalk was Jongin, eyes closed, wet clothes plastered to his body.  His voice carried across the waters, mouth forming words spoken in a language Kyungsoo couldn’t comprehend.

Fear shot through him, an instinctual reaction from a traumatic memory that was seared into him mind.

Kyungsoo knew what was going to happen next, but somehow he still wasn’t prepared for it.  Kyungsoo suddenly felt as though his very breath was being sucked from his lungs.  He couldn't move, couldn't  speak.  He could only watch in frozen, breathless silence as a tiny orb of light emerged from his body and floated towards the chanting male.

Jongin’s eyes snapped open, gaze fixed on the glowing orb as it drew closer to him.  Even from this distance, Kyungsoo could see Jongin’s hand trembling as he allowed the tiny light to settle in his palm.  

The negative energy surrounding Kyungsoo continued to pull at him, but he was suspended in a Half-Bind now, a piece of his Spirit Energy destined to be tethered to an object once more.   He barely had the presence of mind to  wonder what he would be bound to this time…. A shell?  A grain of sand?  A piece of—

Jongin moved his hand, bringing it to his face, and Kyungsoo stared in absolute horror as the human _swallowed_ the small piece of his life energy.     

Kyungsoo’s vision blanked to a blinding white, his body bowed outward, his lungs gasped for air.  

And then everything settled and he sank to the wet ground beneath him, breathing heavily. 

It was several long moments before Jongin’s worried face appeared above him, staring down at him in concern.  Kyungsoo blinked up at him.  Jongin was alive.  He was alive, and breathing, and had just swallowed a piece of his Spirit. 

“Jongin,”  Kyungsoo croaked, voice raw with emotion and utter disbelief.  “What have you done?”

—~~—

_Spirit Shamans, they were called._

_Human shamans that had the ability to Bind a Spirit of the Wilds to their Human soul.  These Binds were found only to work if the Spirit was in danger of slipping into darkness, and the Shaman was strong enough to call them back from the brink of self extinction._

_There were no stipulations to these special Binds.  A Spirit and Human Bind lasted for life.  Once the Bind was in place, a Spirit was then visible to other non-Shaman Humans.  Spirit Shamans also gained the benefit of an increased life span, remaining physically as young as the time of the Bind, and living as long as the Spirit existed._

—~~—

It was many months later before Kyungsoo thought to ask about that night again.  

He and Jongin had travelled to an island, a place where the air was thick and warm, the water a clear blue.  

And the Island Spirit angry.    

The rumors suggested that the animals of the island were being hunted to near extinction, and the Spirit of the Island was starting to choke on negative energy from the grief of the natives.  

Kyungsoo and Jongin had decided to travel to the island and check it out.  Possibly save the Spirit by Binding him.  For now though, they were just enjoying the solitude of a quiet beach, and open waters. 

Jongin was lying flat in the sand, feet barely touching the gentle surf.  He kicked and splashed, toes digging little divots into the soft sand.  Kyungsoo plopped down next to him, pulling his hat further over his face to keep the sun off.  

“Hey,” Kyungsoo murmured, staring out at the blue, blue water, relishing the presence of the boy next to him.  “After Joonmyun pulled you from the water, on that night with Minseok…how did you figure out how to do a Bind?”

Jongin went still, and a few moments passed before he spoke.  “I think… I had some help from someone.”

“What do you _mean?”_ Kyungsoo glanced down at him sharply, brow raised.  “Like help from another Shaman?”

The breeze ruffled Jongin’s bangs as he sat up, his gaze thoughtful, almost secretive.  “No.  It’s going to sound crazy, but when I went underwater, I think I blacked out for a minute and had a sort of—vision.”

“A vision?”

“Yeah.  It was like an out of body experience.  Like I was somehow floating above everything that was happening.  I could see Joonmyun looking for me in the water, and I was able to Luhan on the Seawall and you you sucking all of Minseok’s dark energy into yourself like a blackhole.” He paused, eyes glazed over in remembrance while he stared out over the calm waters.  “And then another person was suddenly there next to me, watching too.  We watched for a while, and then it’s like everything froze, and when I looked over, the person standing there was me… but it _wasn’t_ me.…I mean, he looked a lot like me, but I somehow knew that he was a different person.”

Kyungsoo’s spine straightened in interest, a strange suspicion stirring.

“What did he say to you?”

“He told me I would have to Bind you.  He said he’d seen a Bind done twice before, and warned me to be smart about what I chose to Bind you to.  He also told me that I had to create a stipulation for the Bind.”

Kyungsoo’s heart was beginning to pound, his skin prickling in discomfort.

“And when I asked him what that meant, he gave me an example,” Jongin turned to meet Kyungsoo’s gaze, his eyes hooded and serious.  “Interestingly enough, he used you as an example, and revealed that you were originally bound to a large boulder in a small patch of forest, and that because of that Bind you couldn’t leave that plot of land…. _unless_ you fulfilled a stipulation set by the Shaman that created the Bind…”

Jongin’s gaze was sharp, piqued with interest, and Kyungsoo was simultaneously embarrassed and desperate for what he knew Jongin was about to say.

“In order to free your soul from that boulder, you had to fall in love with a Human.”

And there it was, the truth laid bare before them both. It’d been a few months of them carefully learning each other again, dancing around the newfound attraction that stretched taut between them.  And this entire time Jongin had known, or had at least suspected, the depth of Kyungsoo’s affections.   

The Human raised an eyebrow in question, as though waiting for Kyungsoo to deny everything.  But Kyungsoo had had enough of this waiting game.  

He’d been waiting for years, really.

He turned toward Jongin and placed his hands on either side of the younger male’s face, studying his reaction as he drew closer.  Jongin stared back in return, his eyes dipping to Kyungsoo’s lips before quickly flicking up again.

There was a breathless moment where they just stared at each other, lips parting, inches between them—

—Kyungsoo swooped in and kissed Jongin so hard they both fell back into the sand.  

The sand was rough, digging into Kyungsoo’s elbows as he balanced over the Human, but Jongin was soft and soon the younger male was relaxing into him, opening up to the insistent press of Kyungsoo’s lips.  Kyungsoo took his time with him, transferring all of his emotions into gentle, quick-paced pecks and slick, slow, open-mouth kisses.  It was a long while later, Kyungsoo’s hat pushed off his head, and his breathing a little more labored, that he finally pulled back to stare down at the Human.

“I’ve loved you for a long time, Jongin.”

And Jongin stared up at him, lips swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes shining bright with happiness.  

“I bet I’ve loved you longer.”  Jongin gave a sudden push upward and flipped their positions, hovering over Kyungsoo instead.  “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to kiss you.”

Kyungsoo’s lips quirked.  “How long?”

“Too long.”

—~~—

_A new world began to form, a new cycle of give and take between Humans, Spirits, and the Wilds._

_With the emergence of Spirit Shamans, a critical line of communication was created to between Humans and  Spirits, and soon, coalitions and a consortium of paired Spirits and Shamans began to develop, so that knowledge between the groups could be shared and spread._

_Together, Spirits and Spirit Shamans tended to the magic and energy of the remaining Wilds, and interacted with other Humans and Spirits to create a better environment for both groups of beings._

_And the cycle worked, and once again the Earth moved toward a system of common ground and pleasure for all creatures._

—~~—

“Kyungsoo….”

“What, Jongin?”

“I think this haircut would look great on you.”

“No.”

“This one?”

“No.”

“ _Please?_   Why not?”

“I like my hair the way it is.”

“People can _see you now,_ Kyungsoo.Your hair has been that way for _centuries…._ ”

“It’s a timeless style.”

“It’s _out_ of style.  What if we dyed it a nice, deep red color?”

“No.  Now stop bugging me about it.  I can’t believe I’m stuck with you for eternity.”

“….”

“….”

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with that hair for eternity.”

“Okay _fine!_ But you _have got_ to start wearing socks with your shoes.  Your feet smell so bad.  Have some respect for my heightened senses. _”_

“….Mmm…I’ll think about it.”

“ _What?_ There’s no ‘ _thinking about it_ ’.  That’s not part of the deal.  This has got to be an equal exchange.”

 —~~—

_And the cycle worked._

_Most of the time._

_—~~—_

THE END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I really wanted to finish this off by Christmas, but then I got busy and school started up, and well....now it's April. 
> 
> But I finished it. YAY! My second complete chaptered story. Please let me know what you guys think. As always, I love every single form of encouragement and it really means so much to me that you guys take the time to leave a comment, bookmark, or Kudos. 
> 
> <3 RedThreads


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